Welcome to my site! I’ve been a licensed Israeli tour guide for fifteen years, now focusing exclusively on guiding my home base: the north of Israel. I’ve spent the last two decades teaching Tanach (Bible) and Land of Israel studies in various institutions throughout Israel and internationally. With degrees in the archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Classical Jewish History, and Land of Israel studies, my passion has always been exploring the complex interplay of text, history and land.
My first book, Tribal Lands: The Twelve Tribes of Israel in their Ancestral Territories (Second Edition, 2019) examines the essential connection between the individual natures of the sons of Jacob and the territory that each of the twelve tribes later called its own. (To learn more and purchase, visit here.) I’ve just completed my second book titled The Bible’s Wild Child: Triumph and Turmoil in the Book of Judges, which is a natural continuation of my work on tribes and tribalism in the Biblical period. I am currently collaborating with Batnadiv HaCarmi-Weinberg on an analysis of the petichtot (rabbinic prologues) of Megillat Esther.
I live with my husband Ira and our family on our farm in Moshav Sde Ilan, a sweet little sleepy community nestled between Har Tavor and the Turan mountain range. We experiment in permaculture and sustainable living, concentrating on turning our olive grove into viable pasture for poultry and growing our organic produce aquaponically and hydroponically, with a twinned commitment to both the intricacies of halacha and to compassionate farming practices. Meshek Weissman (Weissman Farms) have tzimmerim (guest houses) to accommodate visitors to the farm and to the general area. For more on our farming adventures, see our video content here, or read about it here.
I love to share my passion for Torah through my writing and teaching. My greatest joy as a guide is seeing the land through your eyes — every tour is a fresh encounter with familiar landscapes. Legendary guide Yehuda Ziv advised us to “explore all the cracks and crevices of Eretz Yisrael, but do so barefoot–for with every step you are treading on the Bible.” Though I do suggest walking shoes for my tours, I also make sure to embrace the reverence and wonder of sharing northern Israel with you.