Tikkun (magazine) - Origins and Content

Origins and Content

The title of the magazine comes from mystical Hebrew concept tikkun olam (Hebrew: תיקון עולם‎; "healing or restoring the world") which suggests humanity's shared responsibility (with the Creator) "to heal, repair and transform the world." Tikkun Magazine was first published in the fall of 1986. According to the cover of each issue, Tikkun is a "Critique of politics, culture and society". Nan Fink Gefen, Michael Lerner and Peter Gabel were primary architects of the magazine. According to the founding editorial statement, political concerns of the 1960s civil rights, anti-war and feminist movements and psychological studies of workers in the 1970s and 1980s were their most direct influences. Additionally, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's legacy of "prophetic" Jewish activism has been honored and analyzed from the first issue onward. Non-Jews also made key contributions to the intellectual framework of the magazine. These include the late historian Christopher Lasch, an original contributing editor, Harvey Cox of Harvard Divinity School and philosopher Cornel West. Although clearly on the Left, Tikkun used a "Current Debate" format as one way to encourage open discussion of ideas and move beyond some of the stifling tendencies of political enclaves.

Tikkun introduced itself in 1986 with prominent ads placed in leading intellectual papers and journals declaring a new voice for the Jewish Left, obliquely challenging Commentary Magazine's conservative drift and the perception that the American Jewish community had grown overwhelmingly conservative. Several members of the Editorial Board, including Elie Wiesel, resigned due to this confrontation with Commentary.

Over the first few years, Tikkun held conferences in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles to capture the energy of its readers and address pressing issues of the day. Throughout its history Tikkun has tried to engage readers in broader activism through numerous distinct organizational entities. In 2001 Tikkun announced the founding of an interfaith activist arm, the Tikkun Community, in the Sept/Oct issue of its magazine, and held its founding conference in January 2002. In 2005, the Tikkun Community was reorganized and renamed the Network of Spiritual Progressives (see below).

Financial support for the magazine has come from three individuals in addition to the assets and efforts of Editor Michael Lerner. Initially, Nan Fink Gefen, at the time married to Lerner, devoted financial resources and served as a hands-on publisher. She left the magazine as their marriage ended in 1991(cite last publisher's page). In 1997 fellow 1960s activist Danny Goldberg, a major music industry president heavily involved in the ACLU, became co-publisher with his father Victor. During these years, prominent journalists such as Jack Newfield interviewed national and international leaders such as Mario Cuomo and Haiti's embattled President Aristide to bring more credibility to the growing influence of the magazine. George and Trish Vradenburg (Lerner's sister) served as co-publishers from 2002 through 2011. Duke University Press became the publisher of Tikkun in 2012, taking over the printing and shipping of the magazine, while leaving full editorial control in the hands of the magazine's editorial office.

Tikkun consistently publishes the work of Israeli and Palestinian left-wing intellectuals in English, and also includes book and music reviews, personal essays, and poetry, generally on Jewish themes. Some writers who have contributed recently to the magazine include Michael Bader, Noam Chomsky, Shaul Magid (a contributing editor), Benny Morris, Or N. Rose] (also a contributing editor), Edward Said, Richard Silverstein, Jim Wallis, and Stephen Zunes. In every issue, Tikkun states that its articles "do not necessarily reflect Tikkun's position on any issue," and its editor, Rabbi Michael Lerner, has written that he "often consciously seeks to print articles with which he disagrees." Beyt Tikkun Synagogue, led by Rabbi Michael Lerner, is loosely affiliated with Tikkun magazine. It describes itself as a "hallachic community bound by Jewish law".

The Network of Spiritual Progressives, still affiliated with Tikkun, has broadened the magazine's appeal to non-Jewish readers. In their own words, NSP members define themselves as "a community of people who support each other pursue a highest vision of a world healed and transformed". This project is based on three ideas: Changing the bottom line in America to maximize love and caring behavior; replacing world domination with generosity based on the implementation of a Global Marshall Plan, calling upon the United States to donate two percent of its GDP to end poverty and hunger; and finally, challenging the anti-religious and anti-spiritual biases within liberal culture.