I have generally followed the standard Jewish Publication
Society translation of the Bible, but I have occasionally per-
mitted myself my own translation; in no case was there a sig-
nificant difference in meaning.

My use of "He" for God, and occasionally "man" or
"mankind" for humanity, are not meant to have any gender
significance; I have attempted where possible to be sensitive to
such concerns, but I have preferred to avoid stylistic awk-
wardness even at the expense of offending contemporary codes
of "correctness."

My transliterations from the Hebrew generally follow the
pattern set by the Encyclopedia Judaica.

One last item: I refer to the great R. Moses ben Maimon as
"Maimonides," except when the discussion is primarily
halakhic, as in the appendix, where I refer to him more appro-
priately as "Rambam."

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