Published Work
Writing
My writing spans academic scholarship, personal essay, and public intellectual commentary. I write about Islamic mysticism, interfaith encounter, language, and the experience of living and learning across cultures.
Academic Publications
The Qalandariyya: From the Mosque to the Ruin in Poetry, Place, and Practice
Routledge Handbook on Sufism, ed. Lloyd Ridgeon
Co-authored with Professor Katherine Ewing
The Abyss of the Dream: Interpretation and Authority in Medieval Sufism
Doctoral Dissertation, Columbia University
Advisor: Professor Katherine Ewing
Essays & Articles
Drop by Drop, until the Cup is Full
A meditation on Jewish identity, Islamic scholarship, and the slow process of spiritual formation.
Read ArticleCelebrating Thanksgiving in Jerusalem
On the experience of American holidays in the Holy City, and what it means to be a Jewish woman studying Islam.
Read ArticleA Prayer in the Beginning
On meaning-making and the spiritual life of a scholar caught between traditions.
Read ArticleA Lonely Atonement: Yom Kippur in the Islamic Studies Reading Room
Sitting in Columbia's Islamic Studies Reading Room on Erev Yom Kippur, reading Shi'a manifestos in Arabic — a meditation on the chasm and the bridge between the scholar and her subject, the Jewish woman and the Islam she loves.
Read ArticleFading Islamic Studies Expands Tolerance
As a Jewish woman studying Islam and Arabic, on why the suspension of UCLA's Islamic Studies program is a loss for the entire university community.
Read ArticleTwo Toddlers, 12 Duffel Bags, and a New Life in Guangzhou
On uprooting a family of four to Guangzhou, China — the surprising child-friendliness of the Pearl River Delta, and why the boldest decisions lead to the most rewarding experiences.
Read ArticleMedia & Podcast Appearances
Podcast · My Favourite Mystic, Episode 33
Ilona Gerbakher on Moses Maimonides
A conversation with AJ Langley on the Jewish philosopher and mystic Moses Maimonides (1138–1204), his relationship to Islamic philosophy, and why he remains one of the most fascinating figures at the intersection of Jewish and Islamic intellectual history.
Listen on YouTube