A few months ago, Interleaved: A Talmudic Podcast (@interleaved_pod) interviewed me about the development of the rabbinic ketubah (the topic of the first article I every published). It was recently posted. I hope it is not too … [Continue reading] about The Rabbinic Ketubah: A Podcast Interview
Happiness and the Good Life
So I have a confession: I like self-help books. Over the years, I have probably read dozens of them, especially those that are - or claim to be - evidence-based. Often going under the more respectable name of "positive" or "social" psychology, … [Continue reading] about Happiness and the Good Life
Antisemitism: A History
I developed a new course on the history of antisemitism for the semester of spring, 2020. The course was going well until, of course, everything fell apart. Now, though, it is time to try it again, and hopefully we can make it through a more normal … [Continue reading] about Antisemitism: A History
New Essay: The Meaning and Function of Torah
In what seems like a lifetime ago (2017), I went to a wonderful conference sponsored by the Enoch Seminar on the meaning and function of "Torah." I reported on that conference, and my own paper, here. I am now happy to report that that … [Continue reading] about New Essay: The Meaning and Function of Torah
The Second Degree
Many years ago I created a profile on LinkedIn, not because I had any vision of what I wanted to do on it, but because that is what people did. I soon discovered, as I suspected, that LinkedIn does not have much utility for academics. LinkedIn is a … [Continue reading] about The Second Degree