The essays collected in this volume are revised versions of lectures presented at an international conference, entitled: »>Ich bin Ende oder Anfange Kafka, Zionism, and Beyond.« The conference, held in Jerusalem and in Beer Sheva, was the fruitful result of a cooperative effort, bringing together the Franz Rosenzweig Research Center of Hebrew University, the Leo Baeck Institute, Jerusalem, the Goethe Institute, Jerusalem, and Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva. I would like to thank the partner institutions and the individuals who joined in this effort to make the meeting possible, especially Gabi Motzkin and Paul Mendes-Flohr of the Rosenzweig Center and their staff; Shlomo Meir of the Leo Baeck Institute; Christine Günther of the Goethe Institute and her assistant Heike; and Suzi Ganot, administrative assistant of the Abrahams-Curiel Department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics at Ben-Gurion University.