CCAR Journal

CCAR
JOURNAL

WINTER, 1997

Published by the Central Conference of America Rabbis

At the Gate -- Ba-sha'ar

I am honored to have been selected as the new editor of our CCAR Journal. The credits of my predecessors are impressive. I have had a chance to contact many of them, and received free advice and encouragement. In particular, I want to thank Henry Bamberger who held the position of editor from 1993 to the end of 1996. His help was invaluable. I am also blessed with an enlarged editorial board with which I consult on a regular basis.

Among my goals are the following:

To raise even higher the quality of our Journal by accepting or soliciting articles of substantial value and high academic standards.
To add a Hebrew section that will be reflective of our commitment to promote the study of Hebrew among Jewish professionals and lay people, as well as to bridge the gap between Judaica scholars in the USA and Israel.
To promote an open discussion on contemporary Jewish issues confronting our people and movement by offering symposia and forums of different lengths.
To strengthen K'lal Yisrael and enlarge the scope of our concern by dealing with Jews everywhere around the world.

This is a transitional issue. Some of the articles, all the poems, and most of the book reviews were handed to me at their initial stage by my immediate past editor. I have received a few new articles and solicited others. In order to achieve close cooperation, I moved the production of the Journal to the greater Boston area where I live, and received great cooperation and guidance from our new production manager, David Wilson. As always, Paul Menitoff and Elliot Stevens have been very supportive. I also need to recognize Louise Stern, who has done a yeoman job as a copy editor and, to my delight, has agreed to continue in the same capacity.

Please take note of the newly revised guidelines regarding submission of all materials. Only original texts will be accepted. We will need two hard copies (one without a name), typed and double-spaced on 8 1/2 x 11'' inch paper. Footnotes should be placed at the end of the article. Once the text is accepted for publication we will require a disk (either IBM or Mac) in order to prepare the final galleys. We will also welcome your short comments in the form of "Letters to the Editor." Given the amount of material that is submitted, we will do our best to publish as soon as possible those that meet our high standards.

I hope you will support the editorial board and me in our new endeavors. We commit ourselves to our task with enthusiasm and the hope of being a worthy peg in the chain of Torah study.

Besha'ah Tovah
Rifat Sonsino, Editor

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