Tikun Olam
From SiddurWiki
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
Tikun Olam is the Jewish concept of "fixing the world." The origin is Kabbalistic - when God created the world, it fractured into tiny "sparks" and it is now our job to put those pieces back together.
Whether overtly or not, tikun olam became a major focus of secular Jewish organizations in the last 100 years. Whether organizations dealing with charity in general or those working to prevent sweat shop labor during the immigrations to the U.S. in the early part of the last century, Jewish groups have long been involved with social causes.
As we've gone through the prayers and re-read them in a more humanistic way, making the world a better place is a recurring theme. That's not surprising given our proposed interpretation of God: "the power within us to do good and change the world."
However, many if not most of the organizations that focus on tikun olam from a secular perspective have little connection with formal religion or tradition. Over time, the initial impetus - to repair the world as a result of a deep sense of Jewish commitment - seems to have gotten lost. By starting with the siddur and adding the humanistic imperative towards tikun olam, we hope that we may do our own small part to "repairing" the world.
[edit] Jewish Social Action Towards Change
A striking contemporary action towards tikun olam can be seen in the Jewish Climate Change Campaign which kicked off on October 19, 2009 in honor of Jewish Social Action Month. The plan outlines ways in which the Jewish people can capitalize on its unique institutions and rituals to help fight climate change.
The Jewish plan is part of a global initiative to mobilize the world's religions organized by The Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), a UK-based organization founded 14 years ago by Prince Philip.
The plan lays out a framework for action over the next seven years (to 2015) until the next shmita year in a variety of areas. According to an article in The Jerusalem Post, these range "from theology to greening assets and everything in between, the plan offers philosophical guidance and practical suggestions for taking uniquely Jewish action to fight climate change and promote sustainability."
There is more information on the Jewish Climate Change Campaign website and in another article on the initiative in The Jewish Week which describes the link between the program and its launch date which coincides with the Torah portion on Noah.
Here is another take on the subject from the This Normal Life blog.
[edit] Social Action vs. Prayer
Here's an interesting article in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that promotes a vision of "social Judaism" instead of prayer as a way of teaching Jewish principles to secular Israeli school children.
[edit] Is Humankind Basically Good or Evil?
Particularly in today's world, where hatred, war and terrorism are on the rise, it is a legitimate question to ask whether the basic nature of humankind is good - and there are some rotten eggs - or if our basic nature is bad - and there are the occasional good people. The question relates to tikun olam inasmuch as it effects what our starting point may be.
An answer comes perhaps from science. As presented on the NPR program Radio Lab, an experiment is done to domesticate foxes. The experiment is still going on after 50 years. But even after 10 years, a pattern emerged. By breeding only fox puppies who showed a "gentler" nature, a more domesticated fox appeared with the characteristics of a loyal dog. Interestingly, the domesticated foxes showed physical changes such as droopier ears and smaller teeth.
This led the scientists leading the experiments to realize that there are physiological changes that accompany less aggressive behavior and that we see the same thing in human beings. For example, when hunter gatherer tribes began to organize into larger collectives and eventually agricultural communities, the presence of the dominant alpha male became less valued. In fact, males who tried to assume all control to the expense (and usual death or expulsion) of other males became a detriment to the emerging society which needed all its males.
As a result, human beings proceeded on a trajectory of self-domestication whereby more people could live in tighter communities without killing each other. Imagine a large city today filled with xenophobic hunter-gatherers - it would be impossible.
This evolutionary selection for self-domestication, Radio Lab's producers argue, is making human society today less and less war-like. While that is sometimes difficult to see in today's increasingly polarized world, if true it suggests that if human kind is not "good" by its original nature, it is becoming more good as time and evolution proceeds.
[edit] Exodus from Egypt as Archetype
The Exodus from Egypt is an excellent paradigm for framing our need to promote universal and particularistic social justice. Here was an oppressed people, slaves, and someone stood up (a Jew) to fight for their rights. It doesn't matter if it's "true" or not - it's part of the national collective mind.
The Exodus theme appears in numerous places throughout the siddur. Use this understanding to add meaning wherever you find the Exodus story.
[edit]
Just click the edit button to the right and start typing below this text. When you're done, click "Save page" in the lower left hand corner.
