In 2009-2010, I created a podcast, “From Israelite to Jew,” that traced the evolution of the Israelites and their religion to Jews and Judaism. The podcast covers the time period from around the seventh century BCE to the third century CE, the time … [Continue reading] about Relaunching “From Israelite to Jew”
Word Similarity in the Talmud
At the beginning of the semester I assembled a team of students (Gabriel Burstyn and Songkai Zhao) to explore ways in which AI and machine learning can contribute to the academic study of early rabbinic literature. This is a burgeoning field and … [Continue reading] about Word Similarity in the Talmud
AI and Ancient Inscriptions
Strange image generated by DALL-E for this post First published on my Substack. In an earlier post, I discussed a very simple and quick experiment that I did on a photograph of an ancient Jewish inscription written in Greek. The results … [Continue reading] about AI and Ancient Inscriptions
What Really Happened on Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday not mentioned in the Jewish Bible. About four hundred years after the events that gave rise to the holiday, the rabbis were still uneasily puzzling about it: The Gemara asks: What is Hanukkah, and why are lights … [Continue reading] about What Really Happened on Hanukkah?
What is “Late Antiquity”?
This was originally published in my Substack, available here. I sometimes call myself a scholar of “Late Antiquity.” But what does that mean? There is nothing obvious or natural about how we name historical eras. Such names are both loaded and … [Continue reading] about What is “Late Antiquity”?