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xiii PREFACE Acknowledgments There are a number of people who through their passionate appreciation of my poetry have encouraged me over the years not only to continue to write (that comes as it will, like the rain) but to save, collect, and transfer my words from scraps of paper to word processors; they have invited me to come read my work, have encouraged me to send it out for publication. Because they took my creative efforts seriously, they helped me to take those efforts seriously. My heartfelt thanks for their praise, which was offered early and often: Judith Plaskow, Ellen Umansky, Marcia Cohn Spiegel, Alicia Ostriker, Susan Reiman, Marcia Marker Feld, Roger Lewis, Ruth Schulman, Joyce Rappeport, Laura Spear, Leah Lemonick, Ruth Goldston, Amy Trachtenberg, Rev. Sue Anne Morrow, Kathy Murtaugh, Esther Ticktin, Joe Reimer, Henny Wenkart, Rabbi Deborah Brin, Rabbi Susan Schnur, Rabbi Patty Karlin-Neumann, Karen Kushner, Lorel ZarKessler , Michael Lerner, Ellen Frankel, Rabbi David Teutsch, Rabbi Reena Spicehandler, Rabbi Joe Levine, Rabbi Danny Leifer, Nancy and Louis Berlin, Alvin Mars, Janet Olshansky, Rabbi Michael Paley, Rabbi Devorah Jacobson, Rabbi Susan Harris, Rabbi Debra Orenstein, Rabbi Jane Litman, Rabbi Jim and Elana Ponet, Sharon Strassfeld, and Barbara Dobkin. A singular acknowledgment to Jean-Claude van Itallie, my teacher in theatre: I remember an afternoon when we sat together in a rustic cottage at his retreat Shantigar and shyly, haltingly, I read him my first poems. In that hour he taught me everything I know about giving my words to an audience. Three people especially are responsible through their stubborn devotion for not allowing me to finally be beaten down xiv A SPIRITUAL LIFE by the long and arduous effort to find a publisher for this volume. Fred Bernstein went so far as to inaugurate a career as literary agent on my behalf; Judith Plaskow offered her keen mind, her critical eye, her loving affirmation; from the very beginning, Gail Reimer gave unselfishly of her time, her energy, her considerable gift for reading a text, helping me envision the unique structure of this book. My deepest gratitude for the many years of friendship and love I’ve shared with each of you. I count my blessings that Sarah Blacher Cohen (seemingly not content simply to bestow good fortune on me by publishing a play of mine) invited me to submit this manuscript to SUNY Press; that James Peltz read it in a night and fell in love with it; that he, Diane Ganeles, and Fran Keneston have taken me through my first experience in publishing with an astonishing display of kindness, professionalism, and solicitude . Warm thanks as well to Nancy Trichter who represented me in writing “the marriage contract” and to Lisa Feld who offered her companionship and skill as tonic for the usually dull chore of proofreading. For acts of friendship and bottomless devotion through dark nights, there can be no adequate acknowledgment on these pages—only in the daily living of my life can I return the love and care I have received from Frima Fox Hofrichter, Debora Phillips, Aaron Lemonick, and Leighton McCutchen. Finally, Eddie. Much of the above and more have I received from you. All these years and all these roads later, your soul is still the soul of Ein Gedi. ...

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