Beginnings
A word, first of all, to our new readers, of whom there are an unusually large number this month. Those of you who are receiving this issue as part of the moment College Program—and if you're an...
...We do have a tendency to spring a leak now and then, but we've become masters at bailing out, and the craft itself appears seaworthy...
...That's the way it is, and there's almost nothing that can be done about it...
...Manuscripts, letters, anything other than correspondence regarding subscriptions, should be sent to our new address, which you'll find on page one...
...There is still very much that remains to be decided, and much the most complicated and tendentious issues have yet to be dealt with...
...And to all our new readers: We welcome your comments, reactions, suggestions...
...The immediate euphoria inspired by the televised proceedings last Sunday and Monday nights has now been replaced by a hopeful anticipation...
...Two negotiating frameworks were accepted, arid, with respect to the first, a good chunk of the negotiation itself was completed...
...Old readers already know, and new readers will soon learn, that the schedule of a monthly magazine is exceedingly awkward...
...moment's first issue appeared in June of 1975...
...Those of you who have been with us since the beginning (and thank you for that) will know how precarious the enterprise has seemed at various points along the way...
...Those of you who are receiving this issue as part of the moment College Program—and if you're an entering freshman, that's likely what's happened—will be interested in our ad on page 8, which explains the details of the plan...
...It is very hard to imagine that any of the three leaders who accomplished this task can now permit himself to appear as a spoiler...
...Since its inception...
...Still, it is exciting to let the imagination free float in a space rid of obsession with survival, in a space that is about nothing more than life and fulfillment...
...And do write home...
...the magazine will start reaching subscribers about October 16...
...All that we know for certain is that bad things that might have happened did not, and that some good things appear to have happened...
...I'll likely not be able to resist the temptation to use next month's Alef column to say something more about our anniversary...
...we can't succeed at that without your help...
...September 21 means that we are in the first days of post-Camp David assessment...
...Good housekeeping also requires that I apologize to Richard Sobol, who was inadvertently not credited—as he should have been—for providing the photos in last month's panel discussion on Orthodox Judaism...
...Hence the missing months...
...I write these words on September 21...
...But we're here, and will be, with your continued interest and support...
...Somebody out there cares about you, and we, of course, hope that you enjoy receiving moment...
...Sailing right along, please note that we've moved our editorial office...
...Now it is a serious item on the international agenda, even if the mind still requires some adjusting before it can fully comprehend the possibility of an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty before 1979, even if history warrants a measure of skepticism still...
...In the meanwhile, it is not premature to offer thanks and congratulations to the President of the United States, whose unprecedented commitment to the process was, according to all accounts, essential to its happy (interim) conclusion, as well as to Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat, both of whom exhibited a degree of flexibility that augers well for the future...
...For now, you will understand if we are surprised, relieved, and, most of all, proud that we've weathered the storms...
...And now, at last, the big stuff...
...We've lost a few months along the way, but with this issue, we complete our third full volume...
...Soon, God willing, Man able...
...The coming weeks will, of course, be critical, not only because we will learn more of the intentions of other Arab states, but also because we will undoubtedly understand better what each of the principals understands by the agreements...
...A year ago at this time, peace was, for all practical purposes, inconceivable...
...There are still too many perhapses to permit ourselves to feel that we are now out of the woods, that we can now turn definitively from war and fear to peace and security...
...Since its inception, moment has tried to establish a close relationship with its readers...
...If through some perverse roll of the dice, you are already a subscriber, or—heaVen forfend!—you don't find moment to your liking at all, do let us know, preferably with the name and address of someone else on your campus who might like to receive it...
...Your parents miss you...
...Yet many things that have happened in the Arab-Israel conflict have been hard to imagine...
Vol. 3 • October 1978 • No. 10
