Tikkun Olam

Value: Tikkun Olam

Tikkun olam means “fixing the world”. The world is broken. There is hunger, racism, war, slavery, prejudice, poverty, and lots of other problems. Because we are created in God’s image, because we are God’s partners, it is our job to solve these problems. A rabbi by the name of Isaac Luria (1534–1572) told a story that the world God created is not finished. There is work left to do. The job of finishing creation and fixing the world is left to us. Tikkun olam is our responsibility. We can’t ask God to do things we can accomplish ourselves. Tikkun olam is building a home for the homeless. It is feeding the hungry and tutoring those who need help in learning. It is making sure that everyone is safe. It is ending prejudice and discrimination. It is making the world the best it can be. Tikkun olam teaches us that our responsibilities go beyond ourselves and our families. We are responsible for our community, other communities—the whole world. In the Talmud, in a book called Pirkei Avot¸ Rabbi Tarfon taught, “You are not required to finish the job, neither are you free to neglect it.” This means “You are not required to do everything the world needs, but never are you allowed to quit working on it.”

Tikkun Olam Text: Aleinu

One of the final prayers in most Jewish services is the Aleinu. From it we learn about tikkun olam. This is from a paragraph that is usually said silently or not included in the prayerbook.

We therefore put our hope in You, Eternal our God… (For us) to do tikkun olam under the leadership of the Eternal And all people will call Your Name and turn back to You… And You will reign over them, soon, and forever and ever.

1. What does tikkun olam mean in this prayer? 2. What does God have to do to create tikkun olam? 3. What do people have to do to create tikkun olam? 4. What does “and all people will call Your Name” have to do with tikkun olam?