D O C . 3 1 7 F O R E W O R D 5 1 7 Translation The author’s foreword to the Hebrew edition The publication of my book[2] in the language of our ancestors affords me par- ticular delight. It is a sign of the transformation undergone by this language.[3] Its use is no longer limited solely to the expression of matters by our people for our people, but is now capable of encompassing any subject of human interest. It con- stitutes an important factor in our aspiration for cultural[4] independence. A. Einstein Published in Einstein 1928b, n. p. The translator of the Hebrew edition of Einstein 1917a was Jakob Grünberg. For a German manuscript, see Doc. 316. [1]Dated by the date of Doc. 316. Grünberg’s own foreword to the publication is dated “January 1927.” [2]Einstein 1917a, fourteenth edition. In the German draft (Doc. 316), Einstein wrote “Büchlein” (“small book”). [3]See “Opinion on Jakob Grommer’s Textbook Project,” before 11 October 1920 (Vol. 7, Doc. 45a, in Vol. 13) for a previous comment by Einstein on the development of Hebrew terminology for the exact sciences. [4]The word “cultural” was not present in the German draft.