Words Matter: Tikkun Olam

By RABBI ARTHUR GREEN

Tikkun olam, which means "mending the world," is an ancient Hebrew phrase that has taken on new life in the past few decades. Its verbal form is found in the alenu prayer, which concludes every service in the traditional synagogue. There le-takken olam means "to establish the world in the kingdom of the Almighty (shaddai)," or to bring about God's rule on earth. In contemporary usage it refers to the betterment of the world, including the relief of human suffering, the achievement of peace and mutual respect among peoples, and the protection of the planet itself from destruction.

While associating these ideals with tikkun olam may be a recent innovation, the values themselves are deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. Spreading our most basic moral message—that every person is the divine image (tselem elohim)—requires that Jews be concerned with the welfare, including the feeding, housing, and health, of all. The Torah's call that we "pursue justice, only justice" (Deuteronomy 16:20) demands that we work toward closing the terrible gaps, especially in learning and opportunity, that exist within our society and undermine our moral right to the relative wealth and comfort most of us enjoy. The very placing of humans on earth "to work and guard" (Genesis 2:15) God's garden, as well as the halakhah forbidding wanton destruction of resources, tells us that protecting the natural order is also a part of that justice. The rediscovery of ancient spiritual forms in recent decades has paralleled an age of activism for political and social change. In some cases these have been quite separate from, or even opposed to, one another. Many of those attracted to seeking spirituality have given up on the possibility of any serious improvement in the human condition altogether. In the case of Judaism, such a bifurcation of spiritual and sociopolitical concerns is hardly possible. Anyone who tries to undertake it ultimately has to deal with the prophets of ancient Israel, still the strongest and most uncompromising advocates for social justice our world has known. If you try to create a closed world of lovely Jewish piety and build it on foundations of injustice and the degradation of others, Isaiah and Amos will not let you sleep.

 

Excerpted with permission from These Are the Words (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1999). www.jewishlights.com.