N o book is written and carried through to publication by
the author alone; even God availed Himself of the serv-
ices of Moses and the Elders in getting His book to the world.
I therefore take pleasure in acknowledging the following indi-
viduals who reviewed the manuscript at different stages of its
preparation and graciously offered me their comments and crit-
icisms: my daughters-in-law Rebecca Lamm and Tina Lamm;
my nephew Ari Goldman; my friends Dr. David and Phoebe
Weisbrot; and my colleagues Dr. Jeffrey Gurock and Dr.
Yaakov Elman. I thank them for their kindness and exonerate
them from any errors of content or style that may have survived
their searching scrutiny.

My greatest debt of gratitude is the one I owe to my editor,
Dr. Ellen Frankel of the Jewish Publication Society. I shall not
reveal to her my dark thoughts when I saw how extensively and
meticulously she marked up my original typescript. But I gladly
acknowledge that after the work was done, I began to appreci-
ate her editorial talents, her sensitivity, and her encouragement.

Norman Lamm
New York City
February 11, 1998
15 Shevat 5758

-xiii-