Tiferet is a Hebrew word that, in my opinion, describes a state from which true creativity arises. I think of it as being similar to the razor’s edge envisioned by Somerset Maugham—a balancing of heaven and earth, good and evil, opposing forces that don’t usually reconcile. On the kabbalistic Tree of Life, tiferet is a stable center where the physical and spiritual realms meet.

My decision to publish a magazine called TIFERET came about as one of the ordinary miracles that make up our lives.

It can be no accident that the Word holds such significance in many world religions and spiritual practices. ”In the beginning was the Word” proclaims John 1:1 in the New Testament. According to kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, letters themselves have special powers; there is divine mystery behind the drawing and placement of each letter. Those who practice Siddha Yoga worship the goddess Matrika, the sacred power behind every sound and every letter. And, as Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, points out, the first sermon in Islam begins with the word, “Recite!”… and, she went on to say, ”The Koran swears by the pen and what it writes. Such a sermon and message cannot be in conflict with awareness, knowledge, wisdom, freedom of opinion and expression and cultural pluralism.”

The mission of our magazine, then, is to help reveal Spirit, in all its manifestations, through the Written Word. We publish writing from authors of many faiths, even non-traditional ones.

My hope is that TIFERET will indeed help foster cultural pluralism… help us all in our own search for and communion with divinity… and be a stable center within our modern lives, a place where the flames of creativity burn brightly.

May you find sustenance—spiritual, emotional, literary—in our community.

Donna Baier Stein
Founder & Publisher