Phil grew up in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania and attended Akiba Hebrew Academy for high school followed by a year at Yeshivat Sha’arei Mevaseret Zion. Phil received his B.A. in History, Phi Beta Kappa, from The George Washington University Honors Program, where he was a Presidential Scholar. While at GW, he was a co-founder of GW Students Taking Action Now for Darfur (STAND). He spent his Junior year studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Pembroke College, Oxford. His undergraduate thesis was entitled “Canones Poenitentiae: Maimonides, Christian Hebraism, and Arminianism in Early Modern Cambridge.” With the help of the Tzvi Daremblum and Yoni Siegal Scholarships, Phil was able to spend the 2008-09 academic year at Yeshivat Har Etzion, where he was also a part-time counselor for the special-needs program. Phil is the Assistant Editor of the new Jewish Review of Books.