Lectures

This is a list of lectures I have given for both academic and popular contexts. In some cases, I have included links to the slides, text, and/or handouts that accompanied the lecture. These links can be found in brackets at the end of the entry. 

Conference Papers and Invited Presentations

  1. “Is there any P in the Book of Joshua?” Chicago-Yale Pentateuch Colloquium (Keynote), February 26, 2023.

  2. “The Mathematics of Priestly Writings: A Preliminary Exploration.” Columbia Hebrew Bible Seminar, December 13, 2022.

  3.  Conversation with Ilana Pardes on “Ruth: A Migrant’s Tale.” Columbia Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, November 16, 2022.

  4.  “Put Down the Pentateuch: Reassessing the Status of the Torah in Second Temple Judaism.” Yale Divinity School, October 2022.

  5.  “Before, In, and After Genesis: Approaches to Teaching the Bible’s First Book.” Columbia University, September 2022

  6.  “Unthinking Sacrifice in Second Temple Jewish Literature.” Society for Old Testament Studies (Keynote Lecture), July 2022.

  7.  “Unthinking Sacrifice in Second Temple Judaism.” Princeton University, February 16, 2022.

  8. “The Myth of Cultic Centralization in Second Temple Judaism.” Studies in Second Temple Judaism: A Global Enterprise, Frankel Institute for Judaic Studies (University of Michigan) and the Enoch Seminar, January 2022.

  9. “The Place of P in Hellenistic Jewish Literature.” Association for Jewish Studies, December 2021.

  10. “The Sensorial Landscapes of Sacrifice in Second Temple Jewish Literature.” SBL Annual Meeting, November 2021.

  11.   “Leviticus 10: A Response to Nathan MacDonald.” SBL Annual Meeting, November 2021 (postponed from November 2020).

  12.   “A God’s-Eye View: The Perception of Sacrifice in Aramaic Levi.” The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Second Public Conference, New York University, June 2021.

  13. “Rethinking an Approach to Biblical Translation: A Response to Samuel Boyd’s Language Contact, Colonial Administration, and the Construction of Identity in Ancient Israel.” University of Colorado at Boulder, May 5, 2021.

  14.  “Can Sacrifice be Literary? Ritual and Narrative in the Priestly Inauguration Day Episode.” University of California Los Angeles, Center for the Study of Religion, February 17, 2021.

  15. “Perspective and Perception: Sacrifice in the Aramaic Levi Document.” University of Birmingham Biblical Studies Seminar, December 16, 2020.

  16.  “Reading across the Lines: Narrative and the Theorization of Ritual in Leviticus 9–10” Harvard University Hebrew Bible Workshop, October 23, 2020.

  17.  “Writing Ritual, Composing Cult: A Literary Approach to Leviticus 1–16.” Columbia Bible Seminar, March 24, 2020. [lecture cancelled due to COVID-19]

  18. “The Literary Representation of Sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible.” SBL Annual Meeting, November 2019. [withdrew from conference]

  19. “The Priestly Narrative: A Biography.” SBL Annual Meeting, November 2019. [withdrew from conference]

  20.     “Rethinking Orality and Poetry: The Bible and Beyond.” Book Review Panelist, New York University, September 2019.

  21. “Reconstructed Stories: The Case for a Critical Edition of the Pentateuchal Priestly Narrative.” The Jewish Theological Seminary, March 27, 2019.

  22.  “Numbers 32: A Neo-Documentary Perspective.” SBL Annual Meeting, November 2018, Invited Panelist in Pentateuch Session.

  23.    “Leviticus 17 and the Strata of P.” Chicago-Yale Pentateuch Colloquium, February 25–27, 2018.

  24.   “Establishing Authority in the Priestly Cult: A New Analysis of Lev 10.” SBL Annual Meeting, November 20, 2017.

  25.  Invited response to Sarit Kattan-Gribetz, “Gender and Ancient Jewish Reading Practices.” The University of Chicago Divinity School, March 1, 2017.

  26. “Ritual Sequence and Narrative Constraints in Leviticus 9.” SBL Annual Meeting, November 20, 2016. [Talk, Slides, Handout]

Community and Invited Lectures

  1. “Leviticus 17 and the So-Called Holiness Code.” Hebrew Bible Workshop at the University of Chicago, May 15, 2017.
  2. “Story and Ritual in Leviticus.” Anshe Emet Synagogue, Chicago, IL, May 6, 2017.
  3. “The Big House: Capturing Divine Presence in the Temples of the Ancient Near East.” Anshe Sholom Bnai Israel, Chicago, IL, February 17, 2016. [Slides]
  4. “Birthing Leaders: The Stories of Moses and Sargon.” Anshe Emet Synagogue, Chicago, IL, January 9, 2016.
  5. “Narrative and Ritual in the Inauguration of the Priestly Tabernacle.” Hebrew Bible Workshop at the University of Chicago, February 25, 2015.
  6. “Using Accordance for Source-Critical Research.” Hebrew Bible Workshop Technology Exchange, University of Chicago, February 11, 2015. [Handout]
  7. “Why Leviticus is More Interesting than You Think.” Kol Sasson Congregation, Skokie, IL, May 17, 2014.
  8. “The Composition of Numbers 32: A New Proposal.” Hebrew Bible Workshop at the University of Chicago, October 15, 2012. [Slides, Handout]