I am profoundly grateful to people whose support over the past several years made this book possible. The project was both started and completed during my tenure years in the Department of Religious Studies at DePaul University. I want to thank members of the department for their collegiality, which allowed me to succeed in the daunting task of completing a book project. My special thanks go to Christopher Mount, for his advice on matters relevant to my research, as well as his constant readiness to proofread sections of this work and offer valuable remarks on matters of both content and style.

Support and advice received from Robert Chazan, Jeffrey Rubenstein, Lawrence Schiffman, and other faculty members of my alma mater, the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University, played a crucial role in the successful completion of this project. Without the enthusiastic support of Beatrice Rehl of Cambridge University Press and the endorsement by two anonymous readers, this book would never have been published. I am also thankful to Ken Karpinsky, Emily Spangler, and an anonymous editor from Cambridge University Press for quick and professional handling of the manuscript.

Allison Gray did a great job with the initial proofreading of the manuscript. I deeply appreciate her help and take full responsibility for any mistakes or omissions found in the text.