As in the case of all series, my fourth volume in the Redeeming Relevance series will largely be read by people who have read several of the previous volumes. This is to be expected and is certainly welcome. Authors are greatly indebted to loyal readerships and I am no different.
Along with a reader’s loyalty toward an author come expectations, especially within a series. The most obvious and appropriate expectation is that new volumes will be more of the same type of work they have seen and appreciated in the past. And yet, though there will be many similarities, this volume will also be different from the other three volumes because the book of Devarim is different from the other books that comprise the Torah.
Devarim means “words,” and that is essentially what the book is about. Only one of the chapters in the previous three volumes was mostly about words; the rest were about stories. Stories draw us in and follow a more intuitive structure, such that my task was fairly easy. Stories provided the context for my observations and the structure for my analyses. Dealing primarily with words and not stories, I found this volume more difficult to write. Likewise, it will be more difficult to read.
My warning is not meant to discourage you from reading this book. On the contrary; we need to understand the Torah’s words at least as much as its stories. And that has been my task in writing this book. It is my hope that the novel insights and interpretations I humbly submit will shed more light on the Torah’s last book. It is also my hope that the reader will internalize the important and relevant messages that can be drawn from a rigorous study of the words that are at the center of Devarim.
On a practical level, you may need to read this book more slowly and pay more attention to detail. Likewise, chapters may be read selectively, starting with the topics that are of most interest. In any event, I am convinced that the serious reader will not be disappointed.
If this was a difficult book to write, it was also a difficult book to edit. On that score, I need to thank my wife, Deena, for all of her fine work in making this a much better book. So too, I want to thank the editorial team at Urim Publications and most particularly Michal Alatin and Batsheva Pomerantz, as well as it its director, Tzvi Mauer.
My heartfelt gratitude goes to the sponsors of this book, starting with my brother, André Nataf. His support and friendship over the years have been an important source of strength to me. Likewise, I would like to thank my good friends Ron and Toby Hersh, Morris and Julie Dweck, and Nahum and Sivya Twersky for their continued support of my work. An especial thank you goes to Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo and Esther Peterman of the David Cardozo Academy, who have assisted in this book’s production.
Finally, I want to thank the artist Darius Gilmont, not only for his outstanding work on the cover image, but also for his kind and generous demeanor, all of which make him a true mentsch in addition to an excellent artist.
— Francis Nataf