I’m excited to share my latest article — a short history of the development of the Pesach Haggadah — published in the biannual journal of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Washington. Thank you to Rabbi Moshe Walter for the invitation! If you are local, pick up a print copy in one of the shuls. Otherwise, read my article at the link below:

Click to access bulletin_14.1.pdf

For the locals on this list, between Mincha and Maariv at KMS tomorrow, I will be giving a pre-Pesach shiur on the topic of:

“A Most American Passover: The Maxwell House Haggadah and Other English Translations”

Mincha is at 6:45 PM. All are welcome.

Here is a link to the Parsha class I gave for Torah in Motion last week:

Of course, it’s not a typical parsha class! I spoke about the ketoret (Temple incense) and Vendyl Jones’ supposed rediscovery of it in a cave near Qumran in 1992. The question addressed: Holy incense or wholly nonsense?

I’ve concluded my class on aspects of the history of Jewish music for Torah in Motion, and you can listen to all 5 sessions at this link to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1sfRRa-RZ4&list=PLGQrWlI7O–7VdD_dx1eoJbHJ1ZHl_a69&index=5

I’m really excited about my upcoming lecture series for Torah in Motion exploring some aspects of the history of Jewish music, particularly music in shul and religious music more generally.

In the first class we will discuss music in the Temple (the little that we know), Torah cantillation (trop) and nusach ha-tefillah (how the prayers are chanted).

It starts this Wednesday at 1 pm and continues weekly for 4 weeks. Lectures will be available on YouTube within a day or two of the class.

You can register at the link below:

https://torahinmotion.org/programs/e-tim-is-music-kosher-a-history-of-jewish-song-in-prayer-and-beyond

My latest article, a review of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ posthumously published synagogue Chumash, is now available at the Lehrhaus:

https://thelehrhaus.com/commentary/the-new-modern-orthodox-humash-at-last-a-review-of-the-rabbi-sacks-humash/

My latest article, on the evolution of chazzanut and singing in shul, is now out in Jewish Action. The topic is very near and dear to me, not least because I often serve as a chazzan myself. I would love any feedback you might have.

https://jewishaction.com/synagogue-prayer/between-nusach-and-niggun-the-chazzans-evolving-role/

I recently concluded teaching an online series for Torah in Motion on the history of the Haggadah called “From the Mishnah to Maggid: Case Studies in the Development of the Haggadah.” You can find the series here on YouTube here. The last part of the series did not make it into the YouTube playlist, however, and you can find it here.

In the Spring 2025 edition of Jewish Review of Books, I have a new article on the back page, a short but wacky historical exploration of the final songs of the Haggadah, Echad Mi Yodea and Chad Gadya.

Basically, after listening to the a cappella group Home Free’s cover of “Children Go Where I Send Thee” with Kenny Rogers (which sounded uncannily like Echad Mi Yodea), I went down a rabbit hole and found a lot of goats.

https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/jewish-life/18544/kidnapped-choruses/

Pleased to share my latest article for The Lehrhaus, a review of Dr. Avigail Rock’s “Great Biblical Commentators,” an excellent volume from Koren Publishers on the biography and methodology of 24 biblical commentators.

Bringing the Bible’s Commentators to Life

My article on Dr. Philip Birnbaum’s forgotten Chumash translation and commentary, which was published in Hakirah 6 months ago, is now freely available on their website if you want to read it: https://hakirah.org/Vol35Lindell.pdf. It contains a section on Birnbaum’s life, and it’s the most comprehensive biography of him published to date.

I recently taught a 4-part class on the history and development of the prayer book for Torah in Motion. The entire class is available on YouTube for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQTSLjGZ7ew&list=PLGQrWlI7O–4b7CvC_dQtlfWCW0nc44kd&index=3

It’s based on the series of article I wrote for 18Forty last year, which is available here: https://18forty.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Who-Wrote-the-Siddur-Series.pdf

In my latest for The Lehrhaus, I argue that we ought to rethink the way we say Selichot, which tends to emphasize quantity over quality. What if instead we looked to explanatory Kinot on Tisha Be-Av as a better model?

Why Can’t Selihot Be More Like Kinot?

My first book review for The Jewish Press is of the thought-provoking Talmud Reclaimed by Rabbi Shmuli Phillips. You can read the review here: https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/books/book-reviews/where-does-the-oral-torah-come-from-and-can-it-change/2024/10/02/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFw9itleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRWrNFVkvTxVSMpG6O-FdJmKKMi4f0fU3KsiHndzg5O6dXUabhhV23PzxQ_aem_pH7NSDTsGMPBeO0kMCj_kw