In order to produce such a memorial volume, numerous thoughtful and appreciative people had to take part willingly. Those whom I contacted were all admirers of Mishael and had been greatly influenced by their contacts and experiences with him; they responded out of personal impetus. Some were former students (but all agree that once a student of Misha, always a student of Misha he was a living cornucopia of knowledge, and distributed its con- tents liberally), some were former or present colleagues. He never missed an opportunity to help a student who was struggling with a certain concept, precept, or grammatical form in (especially) a Semitic language with which they were wrestling.