Plus c’est la même chose…

A writer, educator, and nonprofit professional, my work has historically focused on applying a framework of semiotic and narrative analysis to questions that relate to interaction between humans and “natural resources.” My strongest and most consistent intellectual interest has been religious land-relationship narrative, with special emphasis on the masoretic (traditional) text of the Torah and selections from the Mishnah, how the laws and legends reflected therein emerge from and differ from pre-Biblical societies in the Ancient Mediterranean and West Asian region, and how Jewish communities interact with and apply these narratives to our own contemporary, traditionally-informed lives. More recently, I have put increasing focus on questions related to musicality within the same traditions, as well as thoughts about multilingualism as a religious practice.

With formal training in economics, interdisciplinary urbanism, and English writing and literature (with an emphasis on Latin American literatures), I have taught in the democratic education tradition, worked as an editorial services provider, and served a variety of nonprofits in executive capacity. My most recent post was at the Drisha Institute, the organization where I received the bulk of my formal religious training in Tanakh and Talmud. My main mentors have been Rabbi David Silber and Mary Gaitskill. Other strong influences on my thought are the modern community of environmental humanities practitioners, the Malbim, Sor Juana, and Victor Hugo.