JOEL M. HOFFMAN, PhD, is the author of I"n the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language "and "And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible's Original Meaning". He is the chief translator for the 10-volume series, "My People's Prayer Book" (winner of the National Jewish Book Award) and for "My People's Passover Haggadah". He is an occasional contributor to "The Jerusalem Post" and "The Huffington Post", and has held faculty appointments at Brandeis University and at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He lives in New York.