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ix “Like mushrooms in the forest,” the contents of this book emerged in some unexplainable way amid the leaves, between the trees that fill my days. A debt of gratitude is owed to those who have given me the opportunity to teach—to Rabbis Yehuda Kopperman, Chaim Pollack, Mordecai Kopperman, and Devorah Rosenwasser of Michlalah College, Jerusalem; and to Carmi Horowitz, Nechama Grunhaus, and Joseph Tabory of the Lander Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem. Much in the chapters of this book developed through the interest and searching of my students, who have learned together with me over the years. The wisdom, spirit, and kindness of my own teachers find expression in every page of this book. In different and important ways, Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Erich Heller, Stephane Moses, Jacob Elbaum, Tom Smith, R. Tuvia Rosen, and Jenny Rosen have taught me how to read and write, think, feel, and understand. Simi Peters, Harvey Belovski, Ellen Sucov, Edna Azriel, and Avivah Zornberg read drafts of these chapters at various stages. The interest and encouragement of these dear friends and colleagues somehow always came at just the right time—directing, focusing, and strengthening my lines of thought. I am especially grateful to Susan Handelman, who not only read and gently but firmly critiqued my work but also introduced me to Ellen Frankel of The Jewish Publication Society. Susie’s endless reserves of hope and vision have guided me through many a narrow place. R. Elchanan Reuven Goldhaber generously helped clarify vital biographical and historical details related to IzbicaRadzyn tradition. Special thanks to Rena Potok for her enthusiastic reception of the book from the very beginning. My gratitude, finally, to Karen Schnitker, Janet Liss, Anita Bihovsky and the rest of the staff of The Jewish Publication Society who efficiently and graciously saw the work through to publication. Expressions of thanks sound most inadequate when it comes to those who are closest. My first teachers are my parents, Edith and Milton Wiskind. Acknowledgments x w i s d o m o f t h e h e a r t They and my parents-in-law, Larissa and Gregory Elper, have been a warm and wonderful presence and a continual source of support for our family. My husband Eliezer and our children know that blessings (and gratitude) dwell most securely in places that remain concealed from the public eye. R. Simh .ah Bunem of Przysucha is said to have offered these words of advice: “Every person must find oneself a teacher from among the living, and a teacher from among the great ones in the World of Truth.” Over the months and years during which this book took form, I’ve come to see who those two figures are for me. “Among the living”—my deepest gratitude is to Rabbi Daniel Epstein, without whose influence this book would never have been written. May he be blessed with health and length of days, gratification from his children , grandchildren, and students, and continued strength to share his own “wisdom of the heart” with all who can listen. And, “in the World of Truth”— my thanks, far beyond what words can express, to Rabbi Ya‘akov of IzbicaRadzyn , of blessed memory. His soul’s greatness, audible and tangible in every line of his teachings, has guided, inspired, and formed me immeasurably. May the power and holiness of his words help my own readers find a way “home” in the Beit Ya‘akov. ...

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