From the Editor’s Desk

Issue No. 9 of Kaveret, published by the Department of Behavioral Sciences, delves into the meaning of Self-Sacrifice. Our exploration of Self-Sacrifice continues the chain of concepts examined in previous issues: Love (Kaveret No. 1, January 2000), Leadership (Kaveret No. 2, March 2001), Freedom (Kaveret No. 3, June 2001), Justice (Kaveret No. 4, January 2002), Happiness (Kaveret No. 5, June 2002), Beauty (Kaveret No. 6, January 2003), Passion (Kaveret No. 7, June 2003) and Truth (Kaveret No. 8, January 2004).

Self-Sacrifice, as well as Sacrifice, according to Sapir's Hebrew dictionary, means renunciation or, relatedly, total devotion. Self-Sacrifice is generally used when referring to a selfless act, performed for the benefit of another person or cause, which endangers the individual committing the act. In this !issue of Kaveret, our contributors ask several salient questions that can help us better understand the concept's essence: Is the decision to be Self-Sacrificing made by the actor independently? Are the different forms of Self-Sacrifice culturally rooted?  Can individuals be educated for Self-Sacrifice?

Following the tradition established in previous issues of /Cai/eret, the articles included in this issue explore these questions from a multidisciplinary perspective that brings together philosophy, sociology and psychology. The first four articles (1-4) examine the meaning of Self-Sacrifice from the perspective of philosophy and the monotheistic religions. The next five articles (5-9) probe Self-Sacrifice as an absolute value in Judaism and Greek mythology. The following three articles (10-12) discuss Self- Sacrifice from the perspective of couplehood and the individual. Four subsequent articles (13-16) relate to the ecological implications of Self-Sacrifice ps revealed in poetry and art, biography, film and theatre. The three articles that follow (17-19) relate jo how we encounter Self-Sacrifice in our daily lives. To round out the issue, we offer two prose treatments (20-21) of the subject.

As customary, Kaveret explores Self-Sacrifice according to the four basic tenets of its credo:

1. Consideration of the concept (one per issue) is to be as comprehensive as feasible, touching on diverse points of view: philosophical, psychological, sociological, economic, legal, religious, geopolitical, literary and artistic (short stories, verse hnd drawing).

2. The discussion is to range from the general to the particular, from macro-level relations focused on society to micro-level relations focused on individual human beings, their thoughts, feelings, disappointments and hopes.

3. Contributors can be students, graduates, teaching assistants and lecturers from the Academic Studies Division and other institutions.

4. The format is to be compact, focused, and aimod at as broad an audience as possible.

Kaveret No. 10, due in February 2005, will celebrate a decade of the journal's publication. It's subject: Peace. Articles, creative works and comments will be accepted, following review, if they abide by the Kaveret credo. Manuscripts, accompanied by a 40-word abstract, are not to exceed 2,000 words in length, with no more than 6 bibliographical references (author, title, year of publication, city and publisher), but free of footnotes. Submissions will be accepted no later than 31 December 2004.

Dr. Rachel Pasternak, Editor

Department of Behavioral Sciences

Academic Studies Division

The College of Management