To my guests at Shivvetee.com,

Thank you very much for visiting! I hope you have found my work engaging and inspiring. I realize my writing isn't so easy to read. If literature is to rise above mere entertainment, it must make demands on the reader. I hope the effort you put into reading my poetry has been rewarded with new, enduring, and self-perpetuating insights and energy.

This room, I hope, will eventually be a gathering place where people can openly and thoughtfully debate the merits of a wide range of literary topics in an unmoderated, realtime setting. Until that kind of virtual roundtable is up and running, I welcome your private comments and ideas, and I look forward to discussions with anyone who is interested. You can find my contact information below.

The deepest measure of the value of art and literature extends beyond the knowledge, ethics, and hope it transmits from generation to generation. Its very presence can generate a sense of sacredness. When holding a hand written manuscript, you will feel the awe that an object rare and beautiful engenders. The room next door is my scriptorium. If you would like to consider commissioning me to produce an illuminated manuscript for you, not a printed book but a unique and personalized work of art, please visit the scriptorium. There you can get an idea of the many options available to you, should you desire an object of enduring worth.

A note on the poetry files on this site: The Reading Rooms contain many files, in Adobe's "Acrobat" format. If you have an old web browser, you may need to obtain Adobe's "Acrobat Reader" software to read them. This software is free and easily downloadable. I have chosen to use this format, rather than simple text for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it allows me to maintain the extensive formatting, decorative details, and special fonts that I have used to produce these manuscripts. The visual beauty of my poetry is the first level of entry into the sacred space I am trying to create.

Another reason I have used the Acrobat format is to help protect my copyright on this material. The files displayed on this site are read-only files. I believe you will find they cannot be edited or printed. If you would like a version that you can edit, copy from, and/or print, all you need to do is contact me. I will gladly email you one free of charge. When you contact me, please include your name and address. I assure you this information will not be used by me for any kind of marketing or resale.

Stephen Berer

Links for Thinking:

• Aigam:
A General Web Directory

• Walking the Sacred

• Musing of a Jewish Soul

• Kumah

• Eshel -Kumah's Journal of
Neo-Zionist Thought

• MavenSearch:
A Jewish Web Directory

• HopeSite:
Shoah Education for Youth