I am engaged in a variety of interesting work right now, and am proud of earlier work that is now complete. This is a selection of education, writing, and editorial projects.
| Teaching | | | Copyediting | | | AJWS | | | Skirball | | | Uri L’Tzedek |
I use methods more modern than this!
I spend a lot of my time and energy teaching children in various capacities.
I tutor Modern Hebrew privately, work with a small group of elementary school students on Modern Hebrew and Chumash (Pentateuch), and work as a direct service provider with children who have special needs. In that capacity, I work with children on goals from social interaction, to wayfinding in Manhattan, to how to cook dinner.
I also occasionally substitute-teach, where I am called upon to do everything from teaching Hebrew, Chumash (Pentateuch), Navi (Prophets), and art, to teaching special electives (Zen-Doodling!), to supervising recess and mediating conflict between children, to redoing extensive bulletin board displays, to copyediting progress reports and cleaning up data, to dispensing snacks.
Click here or here for more on my regular, ongoing teaching work, and how I incorporate games, music, and arts and crafts into it.
Here is the sheet that I created for my students to use as a reference while reading Rashi:
Click on the image above for the full handout.
Here are some other Rashi handouts and homework sheets. Click on the thumbnails for the full PDFs.
A Rashi and Ibn Ezra on Genesis 37:28.
Homework on two short Rashis from Genesis 37:23.
Rashi Genesis 37:24. They transcribed the Rashi into regular print and then we looked at Rashi’s sources from Bereishit Rabbah and the Bavli.
Rashi on Genesis 33:4.
Thanks to Sefaria for the sources!
In 2016 and 2017, I copyedited and compiled two bibliographies for Jewish Theology Unbound (Oxford University Press, 2018), by Prof. James A. Diamond. Working with Jim was wonderful!
American Jewish World Service Divrei Tzedek
These are essays that discuss the weekly Torah portion through the lens of global justice, originally published and broadcast in 2008-2009. I wrote each of these and then recorded each as a podcast and edited it for audio clarity. Click on the or icons to download them as PDFs or MP3 files.
| Chayei Sarah | |||
| Miketz | |||
| Bo | |||
| Tetzaveh | |||
| Shmini | |||
| Behar-Bechukotai | |||
| Chukat-Balak | |||
| Dvarim | |||
| Nitzavim-Vayelech |
Some feedback that I have received about these includes:
Chayei Sarah: “Your commentary about the role of Rebecca’s CHOICE about marriage, and Jewish Law only permitting marriage by consent, is great.”
Shmini: “First time I actually understood on a deep level the meaning of this parashah and the deaths of Aaron’s sons… Thank you.”
Dvarim: “Thank you so much for the dvar Torah. I printed it out and had time to read it only briefly…. I look forward to reading it in depth before Shabbat to give over to my Shabbat guests this week.”
Nitzavim-Vayelech:
- “I was touched by your commentary on Nitzavim-Vayelech which appears on the AJWS website and was wondering if I could have permission to reprint it.” (Permission was granted.)
- “I have just read your d’var Torah as posted on the weekly email I receive…I was very impressed and moved by it. I would like your permission to share it with my congregation and friends. I am the Educational Director at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Bridgeport, CT and feel your message is important to share with others.”
Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Temple Emanu-El Course Guides
I served as the project manager, writer, and editor for these print pieces (among others). I was solely responsible for everything from soliciting faculty for course descriptions (and helping them write them) to managing service providers to checking proofs for last-minute errors before printing. (Sometimes, I even went to archives and libraries to find suitable images!) I was also the author of all educational content in these, selecting the year’s or season’s theme, writing the introductory essay, creating sidebars, and writing or compiling information for each sidebar. Each image below links to a PDF with the full content.
Spring 2006
High Holidays 2006
Fall 2006
Spring 2007
Fall 2007
Winter 2008
Uri L’Tzedek: Ha Lachma Anya: Food & Justice Haggadah Supplement
I was the Editor-in-Chief for Uri L’Tzedek’s Ha Lachma Anya: Food & Justice Haggadah Supplement, published in 2011. I suggested contributors, reached out to them and corresponded with them, ensured that we would have contributions for all fourteen sections of the tradition seder, received and engaged in an iterative editing process for all contributions, copyedited the final text, worked with a graphic designer to ensure that all English and Hebrew text appeared correctly, and wrote the “Editor’s Preface.”