Stories, questions, and encounters I carry forward.
I write to make sense of the people, places, histories, and questions that stay with me.
It often means telling the story of an encounter or a journey. Other times it means looking back at history to better understand the present. And sometimes it begins with a question, an argument, or a moment I can’t quite let go of.
My writing moves across America, Jewish life, identity, memory, history, politics, faith, conflict, and the human experiences that connect them.
In my own words.
Essays, commentary, reported pieces, and reflections on the people and subjects I encounter along the way.
Featured Writing
Two grandsons shaped by opposite sides of Auschwitz meet at the place where their family histories collided. They confront what it means to inherit a past neither of them chose.
A visit to Philadelphia to see the 250-year-old Yiddish letter of Jonas Phillips. The encounter moved me to retell his story in Yiddish for today’s largest Yiddish-reading audience and to write my own Yiddish letter to future generations. Becoming a reflection on immigration, identity, and a simple truth: America was never a one-language nation.
A reflection on a visit to Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, where I stood before a marker recalling the synagogue’s 1967 KKK bombing—only to watch the same synagogue burn again months later in an antisemitic arson attack. The piece asks whether today’s attacks on Jewish houses of worship are isolated incidents, or part of a larger chapter of American antisemitism unfolding before us.
After meeting Zohran Mamdani, I reflected on the distance between the political figure many Jews had come to fear and the human I sat with face to face. The piece wrestles with profound disagreements over Israel and Jewish identity while asking whether criticism can remain honest without erasing the humanity of the person on the other side.
No featured pieces in this subject yet. View all English writing
A little bit of my mother tongue.
Yiddish was the language of my childhood, and it remains today the language of my soul.
My Yiddish writing ranges from journeys through America and Jewish history to politics, people, communities, and encounters along the way.
Featured Yiddish Writing
גא-ט בענטש אמעריקא
For America’s 250th anniversary, an in-depth look at the seven founding fathers of Jewish America. Jonas Phillips, Haym Salomon, Francis Salvador, David Salisbury Franks, Benjamin Nones, Mordecai Sheftall, and Gershom Mendes Seixas, and a visit to see the 250-year-old Yiddish letter of Jonas Phillips that lives to tell the story.
גירוש טאמעסוויל, דזשארדזשיע
A visit to Thomasville, Georgia, where in 1862 antisemitic scapegoating during the Civil War led local leaders to order the town’s Jewish residents expelled. I traced the episode through the synagogue, Jewish cemetery, and town hall where the decree was announced, uncovering a little-known but pivotal chapter of American Jewish history.
די הארנאסטייפלער הויף
An in-depth profile of Rabbi Michel Twerski, the Hornosteipler Hasidic court, and the remarkable Twerski rabbinic dynasty, told through a visit to Milwaukee and a Shabbos spent with the Rebbe, his family, alongside my daughter.
מיין רבי מיין סמיכה
A tribute to Rabbi Shmuel David Taub, the rebbi who helped guide me through a difficult adolescence, inspired me to pursue rabbinical ordination, and ultimately changed the direction of my life.
When I find myself in it.
Not every story is one I wrote myself. This collection includes reporting, profiles, interviews, and other pieces in which I became part of the story.
Selected Features
A journey into Venezuela, where Dov Bleich and Moshe Klein explored the country's Jewish community amid political uncertainty, discovering a world few American visitors get to experience.
An intimate look into Dov Bleich’s collection of rare and historic Passover Haggadahs, spanning centuries of Jewish history. From a 1695 Amsterdam Haggadah to an ancient manuscript from the Cairo Geniza, the feature explores Jewish memory, heritage, and survival, including encounters with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the President of Bosnia.
A profile tracing my path from a traditional upbringing in Williamsburg to commercial real estate, entrepreneurship, and recognition among Commercial Observer’s 30 Under 30.
A six-year adventure across all 50 American states, from breathtaking national parks to historic synagogues and state capitols, as told by two young Jewish sisters who explored America with their family, sharing their favorite places, unforgettable experiences, and discoveries along the way.
