WELCOME! Once again, Kerem presents new readers and old friends with a collection of fine writing on Jewish matters.

This issue is timed to anticipate the Yamim Nora’im — the Days of Awe — with a special High Holiday section at the front of the issue that explores its major themes and relevance to our lives. From Rosh Hashanah through Neilah, these reflections are intended to serve as a source of meditation on the holidays, as inspiration for introspection and teshuvah, and as a last-minute resource for those preparing sermons, divrei torah, and other remarks on the holidays.

Working with our authors is one of the great pleasures of publishing Kerem. Issue 12 also includes divrei torah and midrash that illuminate figures in the Tanakh and Talmud, and their meaningfulness in our lives, as well as our relationship to such concepts as revelation and law.We are also delighted to offer another in our line of extended interviews with contemporary, influential rabbis. In this issue we feature the internationally known peacemaker, Rabbi Marc Gopin, who has been involved in conflict resolution in the Arab- Israeli conflict for the last twenty-five years.While we do not necessarily agree with all his views, we think you will find the interview fascinating and thought-provoking. Thanks to our dedicated and insightful poetry editor, Kathryn Hellerstein, you will also find a selection of fine poems throughout the issue.

Some features in this issue reflect upon the materiality of books — leading us to reflect upon Kerem as a print journal. When we first founded Kerem in 1992, we aimed to address a striking paucity of journals reflecting upon the ways we think, live, and practice Jewishly. We envisioned Kerem then — as we do now — as a figurative vineyard (hence its name) whose fruits could be tasted and savored both immediately and over time. The varied genres assembled in its pages — divrei torah, rituals, mediations, midrash, fiction, poems — we hoped would both stimulate and serve as a resource. Over time, we added other features that enhanced our mission: art and photography,music.

While our early years of publication remedied the dearth of journals, by now print periodicals are supplemented—one might even say overtaken by — the Web. Kerem is part of a larger world of developing and diverse Jewish sources. There is a treasure trove of Jewish resources on the Internet. May it continue to increase — ken yirbu! But we hope you agree that there is something special about holding a journal in your hand, riffling through its pages, picking it up, putting it down, and hopefully returning to it, like to the vineyard for which it is named, savoring its fruit. As the holidays approach, tuck it into your knapsack, book bag, purse or briefcase. Read it during your daily commute, on vacation, on a plane or train, even at shul. Let us know your reactions, and we will be happy to share your thoughts with other readers. We continue to be truly grateful for the support of our friends, family, and the larger Jewish community that makes Kerem possible.