My first book, Moses Mendelssohn’s Living Script: Philosophy, Practice, History, Judaism, was published by Indiana University Press in 2017. The book explores the account of Jewish practice developed by Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786), the German-Jewish philosopher generally seen as the founder of modern Jewish thought. Reading Mendelssohn’s well-known German works alongside his neglected Hebrew writings, I offer a far-reaching reassessment of this influential figure, recovering previously unrecognized arguments by Mendelssohn about philosophy, citizenship, and religious authority, and showing that his thought has much to offer broader conversations about modernity and religion. Arguing that a concern with history stands at the center of his approach to topics ranging from science to politics to exegesis, I suggest that his writings not only shed light on a foundational moment in Jewish modernity, but also open up new ways of thinking about ritual practice, the development of traditions, and the role of religion in society. Copies are available here (Amazon) and here (IUP). You can find some of my reflections on why Mendelssohn matters today at the Oxford University Press blog here.

You can watch an interview with me about my work—and the public relevance of Jewish philosophy more broadly—here.

My current research focuses on Nachman Krochmal (1785-1840), one of modernity’s first Eastern European Jewish philosophers. A businessperson, teacher, and communal leader born in what is now Ukraine, he is often described as central to Judaism’s encounter with developments such as historicism, biblical criticism, and German Idealism. However, his work is rarely subject to scrutiny, especially in North America, and his unfinished Hebrew magnum opus—published posthumously as The Guide of the Perplexed of the Time—remains largely unavailable in English. With Lawrence Kaplan, I am currently producing the first English translation of Krochmal’s Guide for the Yale Judaica Series, a joint initiative of the Yale University Jewish Studies Program and Yale University Press. I am also writing a book—tentatively entitled Nachman Krochmal and the Struggle for Modern Jewish Politics—that recovers Krochmal’s thought for contemporary readers, proposing a far-reaching reinterpretation of his philosophical goals and drawing on his work to rethink the emergence and contours of Jewish modernity. You can read some of my recent publications on Krochmal here and here.

I am also involved in two major grants. I am a Co-Principal Investigator on a $250,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation entitled “Jews of Color: Histories and Futures.” Spearheaded by Principal Investigator Professor Samira Mehta (University of Colorado Boulder), this initiative is a partnership between CU’s Program in Jewish Studies and University Libraries, and seeks to recover, study, and elevate the voices and experiences of Jews of color in the United States. Additionally, I am a Cooperation Partner on an approximately €1,200,000 grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft entitled “Emancipatio Rabbinica: Die Stellung der rabbinischen Literatur in den Debatten über den Status der Juden in der Moderne (1600–1900) im italienischen, deutschen und osteuropäischen Kontext.” Led by Professor Ze’ev Strauss (Universität Hamburg), this project explores the role of rabbinic literature in modern debates about Jewish civic and social status across Europe.