Tell Magazine June 2018 5778

{UNDERSTANDING TIKKUN OLAM}
Rabbi Rafi Kaiserblueth
Tikkun Olam is a ubiquitous term that has become so common
place that the original meaning has been lost.
If we dig a little beneath the surface,
we realise very quickly that it is
not as simple as “fixing the world,”
but a powerful amalgamation
of concepts. It has evolved to
encompass several distinct ideas
apart from the conception of today.
Probably the earliest usage of the
term comes from the Aleinu prayer,
first written for use during Rosh
Hashanah, most likely in the 2nd
century. The term there refers to
an idea “to establish/fix the world
under the kingdom of God”, or
“perfecting earth by Your (God’s)
kingship.” Different prayer books
translate that line in a variety of ways,
probably reflecting our modern-day
discomfort with the concept of one
religion reigning supreme over all
the others. The concept is generally
understood to mean a cleansing of
the world of all impurities (read
idolatry) that will allow the full
manifestation of God’s presence.
There is also a reference in the
Midrash roughly contemporary
with the Aleinu being written. In
the Midrash, the rabbis use the term
Tikkun Olam to mean the work
of creating a sustainable world fit
for habitation. In one particular
Midrash, God uses rain to establish
the world (l’taken olam) and
sustain it. This reading is concerned
solely with the physical world.
Around the same time that Aleinu
was being written, the Mishnah was
being codified. In it, there are several
references to the term Tikkun Olam,
however in the case of the Mishnah,
the reference is an entirely different
concept. Here it is almost always
justifying the creation of a legal
loophole to protect the marginalised
and less fortunate. The purpose
in these cases refers to a notion of
preserving a system as a whole.
Finally, many hundreds of years
later, during the rise of the Kabbalist
movement, Tikkun Olam came
to be used to refer to the idea of
realising a divine perfection in the
world, where the original state of the
universe would be restored through
our human performance of mitzvot,
both ritual and ethical. It was a
radical idea that humans could have
a direct impact on the cosmos. Jews
had to look beyond a specific act,
and look at the larger picture to see
what impact that act might have.
It is only in the last 40 years or so
that the term Tikkun Olam came
to be a catchall term that signified
acts of social justice. As with many
concepts in our tradition, the term
obviously has evolved. In fact, it is
possible to see elements of each of
the concepts reflected in our current
understanding of the
term Tikkun Olam.
Whether one is
engaged in providing
for the homeless and
refugees; or political
activism, environmental
causes, aiming to
rid the world of evil,
creating a sustainable
world, protecting
the marginalised; or
positively affecting the planet around
us to bring the divine presence
among us – then that is truly a
repair of our world. The work is
grounded in a divinely inspired
idea to create a world rid of evil,
that is sustainable and accessible to
everyone, and that brings us closer
to the original state of creation when
all was in a state of harmony.
Volunteers Adam Carpenter and Bob Tribetz help on Mitzvah Day
INSPIRING PRAYER
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