Interests: As a writer, and as a person who teaches about creativity, I find myself regularly wrestling with a number of big questions that are rooted in the life I lead: What is creativity? Where does it come from? Who has it? How does it work? What does it do in the world? As a Jewish writer, I find myself asking: What, if anything, does Judaism have to say about all this?<br><br> In Judaism, we turn for understanding first and foremost to the Torah – the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The 3rd-century document <i>Pirkei Avot</i> advises us to “Turn it and turn it, for everything is in it.” Our sages have even suggested that God read the Torah for instructions when creating the universe. Now, I should say that I personally don't take that story literally, but see it instead as a kind of inspired metaphor for just how rich the Torah is as a text, how full it is of a people's wisdom accumulated up to that point, how engaged it is with what we feel as divine in the universe. Either way, what better source of wisdom to consult for questions on the creative process, a process which has always been, for me, a spiritual one?<br><br> This blog delves into the richness of our weekly Torah readings for wisdom on all aspects of the creative person’s life. You won’t always find traditional interpretations here, and sometimes what you find will be downright irreverent. Above all, this is meant to be an exploration useful and open to all creative people, whether religious or not, whether Jewish or not, whether a professional artist or a part-time amateur. I find that the tree of life that is the Torah is endlessly fruitful, just like the artist’s life itself – and I’m happy to offer up some of the fruit.