And it was in the last days of Obama's administration....

Hello Friends!

I had initially planned on beginning my blog with a retrospective of fond and not-so-fond memories from my 4.5 years in DC (Sermon Slam, a CSF leak, walks up and down 16th Street, Prime Meridian, the S Street Beit Midrash, Masechet Beitzah, IfNotNow actions, harassing members of the City Council/the Mayor, bawling at plays with Becca and much else all featuring prominently). But I head out to to the airport in about 15 minutes, so nostalgia will just have to wait, in favor of explanations, and blog kick-off.

The name of my blog is a play on Esther 1:1, which describes the kingdom of Achashveirosh as stretching MeHodu VeAd Kush, from India to Ethiopia. My blog is entitled MeHodu VeAd HaKibush, from India to the Occupation (h/t Sarah M. for the idea).  Admittedly, my trip starts in Thailand, then goes to India, Israel, somewhere in the Mediterranean, Palestine, and then somewhere else, TBD, so the description works neither geographically nor temporally. Still, the title gives you the gist of the blog's purpose: I will both be describing my adventures and also sharing thoughts about politics, Torah, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Photographs are also a possibility.

The goal is to post ~once a week. Having never blogged before, I'm not totally sure how well this commitment will hold up. My goals for this trip include unplugging, and seeing how long I can go without saying or hearing the name Donald Trump. This means that I will be less electronically available than usual. Commenting here is probably a good way to get my attention.

OK, time to head out to JFK. More soon!