ACKnoWLEdGMEnts • xialso welcomed my wife and me into her historic Jerusalem home. My
months at the Central Zionist Archives were made particularly pleasant
by the friendship of, and frequent coffee breaks with, noah Haiduc- dale.
i could not have undertaken my research without the support of
foundations and fellowships that had faith in me and my project. these
include the Wexner Graduate fellowship, schusterman israel scholar-
ship, U.s. department of Education’s foreign Language and Area stud-
ies fellowship, Kathryn Wasserman davis Critical Language fellowship
for Peace at Middlebury College, Memorial foundation for Jewish Cul-
ture, and foundation for Jewish Culture. to assist in the preparation
of the manuscript, i received generous grants from Columbia’s institute
for israel and Jewish studies and from the israel institute.
As my work on this book comes to a close, i have been fortunate to
return to two old-new intellectual homes. i spent a year at Harvard’s
Center for Jewish studies, where i was graciously welcomed back by
shaye Cohen, Peter Gordon, Rachel Greenblatt, Jay Harris, and Ruth
Wisse. And i embark on a new position at Princeton in near Eastern
studies and Judaic studies, joining the extraordinary faculty and in-
tellectual community that inspired me as i was writing my dissertation
years earlier in firestone Library.
fred Appel of Princeton University Press has been enthusiastic about
this project from our first meeting in toronto and has, with the assis-
tance of sarah david, Juliana fidler, and Ali Parrington, shepherded
it along with great care. Anita o’Brien copyedited the book and tom
Broughton-Willett compiled the index.
My parents, Rhonda and Michael Gribetz, have generously supported
and lovingly encouraged me as i pursued a career in academia. My
father insisted on reading every paper i wrote along the way, and my
mother, who proofread key portions of the manuscript, made sure i
took care of myself and always looked like a mensch. i am also grateful
to my mother-in-law, Esther dreifuss-Kattan, my father-in-law, shlomo
Kattan, and Miriam Lewensztain, who, from across the country, took
great interest in this project; to my brothers Eric and seth, sisters- in-
law Carin, orit, and Gabriela, and brother- in- law Pavel for their advice,
generosity, and good cheer; and to my grandmother florence Gribetz,
who has inspiringly modeled open- mindedness and endless learning.
finally, i express my boundless love and gratitude to my wife, sarit
Kattan Gribetz, whose sharp, critical mind made a mark on every page
of this book. from our sweet daughters, daniela and sophie, identical-
but- different twins, i have learned much about self and other and the
porous boundary in between, while our son, Max, born just as i was
completing this manuscript, reminds me that seemingly fixed groups
and categories such as “our family” can expand, with love.