W elcome to the relaunch of CONTACT, the magazine of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life that provides critical and constructive commentary on the Jewish community. In its sixteen years of existence, CONTACT has offered a forum for leaders and academics to assess programs and trends in the Jewish world. Starting with this, our fifty-third issue, CONTACT will add journalistic pieces to the mix in an effort to investigate, isolate and uncover problems and potential solutions. We feel that the addition of independent voices calling out inefficiency, waste and missed opportunities will help make CONTACT a compelling force for change in the community.

In addition, while in the past CONTACT was a journal devoted to a different theme in each edition, the new CONTACT will explore a range of topics. It will feature at least four sections dedicated to various aspects of Jewish life today: LANDSCAPE, the structures of Jewish institutional life and borders of practice; LANGUAGE, the historic and current vernacular of Jewish expression; LIVES, personal profiles of people forging individual paths towards Jewish engagement; and LAYERS, the art, culture and joy that defines Jewish creativity today. Overall, the goal is to mix journalism with art, personal profiles and a focus on Hebrew to create a magazine that inspires and provokes.

We hope you enjoy the new format and find it a vehicle for new kinds of engagement. We welcome your reaction and feedback and look forward to hearing from you.