Editor's Foreword

Volume 9 (2009) of Aleph is the first to be published in two parts: the present one, 9.1, published in March, and the next one, 9.2, to appear in September 2009. To maintain the scholarly level of the journal, the total page count per volume will remain roughly the same (somewhat less than 400). All the same, going to two issues a year is an "upgrade" that marks a new step in the development of Aleph. I would like to take this opportunity to express my warm thanks to all the persons and institutions whose support at one stage or another of Aleph's now almost decennial history has made this coming of age possible.