Then and Now
In his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman returns several times to a formative experience he had in the Israeli army. Assigned to a unit responsible for assigning fresh recruits to approriate units, he soon discovered that the interviews … [Continue reading] about Thinking, Fast or Slow? Or, “On Academic Hiring”
Ever wonder how many times the Babylonian Talmud cites the Bible? Me neither, until I compiled the data. The answer is 13,219 times, give or take a little. For those who are interested, the Vilna edition of the Talmud has 5894 folio pages … [Continue reading] about Fun Talmud Fact
In the Babylonian Talmud, authority comes in variety of flavors. Sometimes a tradition, heard from and cited in the name of a teacher, carries the day. At other times, logic wins. The behavior of a rabbi, the opinion of an expert, or the common … [Continue reading] about One pesuk, two pesuk, three pesukim more…
I have now added two new syllabi: "Faith and Violence", a first-year seminar, and "The Talmud." … [Continue reading] about New Syllabi
I am happy to announce a new article that I have just published on pedagogy. Here is the abstract: During my career, I have regularly taught a survey course on the history of Jews and Judaism in the Persian, Greek, and early Roman periods (ca. 520 … [Continue reading] about New Article on Pedagogy