This article shows clearly why progressive/liberal Jewish politicians like Dana Nessel, who claims tikkun olam requires Jewish martyrdom, are so dangerous to other Jews. Their religion isn’t Judaism, it’s the Democratic Party. They are willing to overlook or explain away the rampant and growing antisemitism within the Democratic Party because, in their worldview, the only thing worse than a Jew hater like Mamdani, Piker or el Sayed is a Republican. What these progressive/liberal Jewish politicians don’t understand is that once they help the “movement” gain power, they become expendable.
Yup. We should sacrifice ourselves for the good of the Democratic Party. She has sold her soul for the Red/Green Alliance. And, yet, she noted that was not going to attend the MI Dem convention because she feared for her security.
So, her self sacrifice? Not so much. But, all of the other Jews should.
I am quite disgusted that Al Sayed attempted to appropriate the term ‘Tikkun olam’ to play with the idea that he’s somehow acceptable to the Jewish people. Jew haters quit attempting to ‘kasher’ yourself with our writings.
I'm neither Jewish nor American (an ex-central European lapsed Catholic) but my Zionism is the one hill i'm prepared to die on. Figuratively and literally alike.
Scratch the surface of any tikkun olam kapo and you will find a fully formed fascistic New Age nazi hellbent on destroying everything that's intelligent, civilised, decent, good.
This reminds me as well of a piece of advice given by a liberal rabbi years ago: when planning to give birth, know that in a Catholic hospital, if the mother and baby’s lives are in danger and the doctor must choose which to save, a Catholic doctor working within that framework will save the baby’s (because of Catholic beliefs about original sin, etc.) The Jewish tradition holds that the mother’s life be saved.
Tikun Olam is one of the ways in which prejudice against Jews manifests as demands that we be morally super-perfect while claiming that we think we are supremacists.
It is one of the ways in which we get held to higher standards and blasted for not being perfect. It is lose/lose for us, especially during times of social conflict when populism is ascendant. Israel would need to commit suicide in order to please the world, which only sees us as full human beings when we are dead.
We are the abused partner of Christendom, Islam and Atheism. Israel is the way we try to escape the abusive relationship and that makes Europeans, Arabs, and extremists on all sides angry. Too many just want to track us down and continue their manipulation, entitlements, and emotional and physical violence.
Jewish ethics always place first our obligation to create ourselves as healthy, balanced humans, in healthy, balanced families and communities. We love life, unlike those who admire death and martyrdom. Our task is to repair ourselves before tackling the world. It is not our way to blow up others in order to repair them. We don't proseltyze. We educate ourselves, which never stops.But we do defend ourselves.
I can see how Tikun Olam appeals to an Islamist and those radicals who think they have all the answers and wish to impose their views on others by any means necessary. This is far from Jewish thinking. Jewish ethics require that we work on ourselves and our families and communities and not succumb to ideologies that divide people and dehumanize those painted as enemies of perfection.
Mostly, because the Lurianic mystical description of Creation which includes the expression, never intended it to mean just " repair the world". It meant to trap the sparks of holiness dispersed by a broken Creation , according to Rabbi Luria, the great Ari, a Creation including a shattering of God's own nature, a painful idea to contemplate,not unlike the unreasonable pain of childbirth. This shattering of the divine vessels allowed evil to enter the world. Evil is to be eradicated, fought against.
It is a profoundly Jewish mystical, not political idea. The idea of first becoming a better person by trapping the remaining holy sparks of the Divine in order to help reduce the evil in the world got lost in the effort to become a "useful" Jew, justifying that Jew's existence as if the Jews owed the rest of humankind a ransom for their legitimacy. Tikkun Olam was never a recipe for the ultimate and perhaps only destiny of human beings. Bypassing the ethical imperative is a glaring omission.
Why was that essential mystical legacy forgotten? Because becoming a better person has always been very difficult. It requires an honesty a politician like Nasser doesn't possess.
In the scope of Jewish Peoplehood in its many versions, the shallowness of immediately proceeding to measurable , visible, virtuous looking " action " and calling it the one true mission of Judaism is at first delusional and at worst, practically blasphemy.
From there, more distortions were to come, such as flattening the meaning of committed Judaism to resemble every other generic universally claimed ideal, no Judaic particularity .
Lower still now, is the contemptible spectacle of a charlatan like Nasser, who hasn't yet learned Queen Esther's story, but preaches a dissolution of Judaic identity. This, in addition to all the inane and corrupt co-opting of terms and profound ideas they don't understand by ignorant declared enemies like El-Sayed.
Progressive Jews including followers of Reform Judaism applied tikkun olam concept to the political program of Democratic Party and to "progressive" ideas in general quite some time ago . It must've been one of El-Sayed voters that probably introduced him to it It is quite revolting that somebody basically supporting liquidation of Jews invokes this otherwise
So much of what you write resonates with me, including this essay. Thank you for continuing to stand up for Jewish identity, peoplehood and Israel in such an eloquent manner even as we seem to be in a morass of hatred.
As a progressive Democrat and a lifelong Reform Jew, I think it’s fair to say that for my Synagogue community, tikkun olam is akin to the idea that it’s a Jewish value to pray with your feet. It matters how we behave more than what we believe. It matters that we reach out and work with our neighbors - no matter their religion - to strength our communities. It’s not about erasing ourselves in favor of disadvantaged groups. It’s not about encouraging one another to ignore our own needs or weaken our own power.
Tikkun Olam isn’t a zero sum game. We can absolutely help ourselves and others. And by “we” I mean that no one can do it all. Each person makes their own choices for using their energies and time: some do organizing for legislation that benefits Jews and other minorities, others help fund-raising for local food banks, others work with immigrant rights. Whenever we work for the benefit of the needy, we strengthen our own community. If the work is done as efforts by Jews, it teaches non-Jews about our real values and worth as neighbors.
You missed the whole point of this essay. First you look after yourself. Jews must be aware of their needs and their own safety. That should be more important than involving yourself with people who want to kill you and your family no matter how oppressed they may appear to be. A lot of this modern Tikun Olam nonsense is causing antisemitism. Just take George Soros as an example! The Reform movement has only spread this problem. Again as in history we are working towards our own destruction.
I did not “miss the point” of the essay. I simply disagree with some of it. The values of Tikkun Olam are certainly not “nonsense” to me and the many people who were/are raised with that idea. Also, saying that defending others is the same as “involving yourself with people who want to kill you and your family” sounds paranoid to me. I’m not discounting the existence of real antisemitism and people who blame Jews for the world’s inequities. Not at all. There are security guards at my synagogue for good reasons. But your example of mentioning George Soros as some kind of prime example of something bad tells me that you might believe a lot of things that I won’t agree with. That’s ok. We don’t need to agree. But please don’t accuse me of not valuing my own life or the lives of my family. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Good article and overview of this concept of Tikun O'lam. But as some of the comments miss the execution, let me expound with another two points:
1. "Be a light unto the nations." We live in our promised land, keep the morals of our laws and customs. It is up to the rest of the world, not the Jew/Israel to change them. As the old light bulb jokes goes "but the light bulb must want to change."
2. Also, as it says in the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 71a. “The poor of your city and the poor of another city – the poor of your city come first.”
You go way too far in equating the two "camps" one camp, the Democratic one, has literally made it impossible for a candidate to stand behind Israel and has turned AIPAC, once a bi-partisan lobby, into the equivalent of the KKK. The other almost entirely supports Israel and opposes the Palestinian National Murder Cult. They are not equivalent. Ot could change but this is where we are right now.
Look kids Tikkun Olam was shown to be a useful phrase that means everything to every and anybody who wields it to ‘inspire’ or ‘shame’. It lost its value the minute the Kenyan uttered it.
Nevertheless here we are reading a wonderful article on it ( I mean no kidding, clear, well referenced and articulated ) and discussing it like it’s going to do something to clarify and help our position here in the NA Diaspora.
If I may add my 2 cents to the discussion. The fucking Cossacks are right down the street and are about to start kicking the doors in. Strap Up, Ammo up and get good within 25 feet. You can count the number of Angels on the head of a pin either after the battle’s won or on your way to the ovens.
Wake up! Wanna read something that might help… try Jabotinsky!
Only people who overdosed virtue signalling as a means of denial to suppress second generation trauma can swallow this weaponized poison pill. Sadly the price for being inauthentic is high.
"repairing the world might occasionally mean Jews should stop worrying quite so much about the Jews."
All Jews, and by that we mean ALL Jews are under the obligation of Tikkun Olam to repair the world in the name of social justice. For dead Jews, it means it might take a little longer, but it does not relieve them of their obligation.
Like the other commenter, also missed the satirical note.
There never has been social justice. Humans are too diverse. They cannot be homogenized into a uniform collective. That is the stuff of dystopian fiction.
It was a bit of satire intended to expose the absurdity of using Tikkun Olam, a rabbinic concept, as a call for Jews to support Social Justice objectives, which ideologically would turn Jews against themselves. Very clever tactic.
By the way, Social Justice is Critical Race Theory wrapped in moral jargon. Something people might want to consider before they take to the streets and campuses and Media.
This article shows clearly why progressive/liberal Jewish politicians like Dana Nessel, who claims tikkun olam requires Jewish martyrdom, are so dangerous to other Jews. Their religion isn’t Judaism, it’s the Democratic Party. They are willing to overlook or explain away the rampant and growing antisemitism within the Democratic Party because, in their worldview, the only thing worse than a Jew hater like Mamdani, Piker or el Sayed is a Republican. What these progressive/liberal Jewish politicians don’t understand is that once they help the “movement” gain power, they become expendable.
Good post, except there is no Democratic Party anymore. They’re now IslamoSocialists.
Ridiculous.
Yup. We should sacrifice ourselves for the good of the Democratic Party. She has sold her soul for the Red/Green Alliance. And, yet, she noted that was not going to attend the MI Dem convention because she feared for her security.
So, her self sacrifice? Not so much. But, all of the other Jews should.
What a fkg hypocrite!
Spot on.
I am quite disgusted that Al Sayed attempted to appropriate the term ‘Tikkun olam’ to play with the idea that he’s somehow acceptable to the Jewish people. Jew haters quit attempting to ‘kasher’ yourself with our writings.
A nice well written essay, Melissa B.
Not much to add.
I'm neither Jewish nor American (an ex-central European lapsed Catholic) but my Zionism is the one hill i'm prepared to die on. Figuratively and literally alike.
Scratch the surface of any tikkun olam kapo and you will find a fully formed fascistic New Age nazi hellbent on destroying everything that's intelligent, civilised, decent, good.
Am Yisrael Chai forever & ever, amen.
This reminds me as well of a piece of advice given by a liberal rabbi years ago: when planning to give birth, know that in a Catholic hospital, if the mother and baby’s lives are in danger and the doctor must choose which to save, a Catholic doctor working within that framework will save the baby’s (because of Catholic beliefs about original sin, etc.) The Jewish tradition holds that the mother’s life be saved.
Tikun Olam is one of the ways in which prejudice against Jews manifests as demands that we be morally super-perfect while claiming that we think we are supremacists.
It is one of the ways in which we get held to higher standards and blasted for not being perfect. It is lose/lose for us, especially during times of social conflict when populism is ascendant. Israel would need to commit suicide in order to please the world, which only sees us as full human beings when we are dead.
We are the abused partner of Christendom, Islam and Atheism. Israel is the way we try to escape the abusive relationship and that makes Europeans, Arabs, and extremists on all sides angry. Too many just want to track us down and continue their manipulation, entitlements, and emotional and physical violence.
Jewish ethics always place first our obligation to create ourselves as healthy, balanced humans, in healthy, balanced families and communities. We love life, unlike those who admire death and martyrdom. Our task is to repair ourselves before tackling the world. It is not our way to blow up others in order to repair them. We don't proseltyze. We educate ourselves, which never stops.But we do defend ourselves.
I can see how Tikun Olam appeals to an Islamist and those radicals who think they have all the answers and wish to impose their views on others by any means necessary. This is far from Jewish thinking. Jewish ethics require that we work on ourselves and our families and communities and not succumb to ideologies that divide people and dehumanize those painted as enemies of perfection.
Tikkun Olam got out of hand.
Mostly, because the Lurianic mystical description of Creation which includes the expression, never intended it to mean just " repair the world". It meant to trap the sparks of holiness dispersed by a broken Creation , according to Rabbi Luria, the great Ari, a Creation including a shattering of God's own nature, a painful idea to contemplate,not unlike the unreasonable pain of childbirth. This shattering of the divine vessels allowed evil to enter the world. Evil is to be eradicated, fought against.
It is a profoundly Jewish mystical, not political idea. The idea of first becoming a better person by trapping the remaining holy sparks of the Divine in order to help reduce the evil in the world got lost in the effort to become a "useful" Jew, justifying that Jew's existence as if the Jews owed the rest of humankind a ransom for their legitimacy. Tikkun Olam was never a recipe for the ultimate and perhaps only destiny of human beings. Bypassing the ethical imperative is a glaring omission.
Why was that essential mystical legacy forgotten? Because becoming a better person has always been very difficult. It requires an honesty a politician like Nasser doesn't possess.
In the scope of Jewish Peoplehood in its many versions, the shallowness of immediately proceeding to measurable , visible, virtuous looking " action " and calling it the one true mission of Judaism is at first delusional and at worst, practically blasphemy.
From there, more distortions were to come, such as flattening the meaning of committed Judaism to resemble every other generic universally claimed ideal, no Judaic particularity .
Lower still now, is the contemptible spectacle of a charlatan like Nasser, who hasn't yet learned Queen Esther's story, but preaches a dissolution of Judaic identity. This, in addition to all the inane and corrupt co-opting of terms and profound ideas they don't understand by ignorant declared enemies like El-Sayed.
It baffles me that any American would consider voting for a candidate that has no respect for the Constitution, and will toil to usurp it.
Progressive Jews including followers of Reform Judaism applied tikkun olam concept to the political program of Democratic Party and to "progressive" ideas in general quite some time ago . It must've been one of El-Sayed voters that probably introduced him to it It is quite revolting that somebody basically supporting liquidation of Jews invokes this otherwise
often needed mitzva .
So much of what you write resonates with me, including this essay. Thank you for continuing to stand up for Jewish identity, peoplehood and Israel in such an eloquent manner even as we seem to be in a morass of hatred.
As a progressive Democrat and a lifelong Reform Jew, I think it’s fair to say that for my Synagogue community, tikkun olam is akin to the idea that it’s a Jewish value to pray with your feet. It matters how we behave more than what we believe. It matters that we reach out and work with our neighbors - no matter their religion - to strength our communities. It’s not about erasing ourselves in favor of disadvantaged groups. It’s not about encouraging one another to ignore our own needs or weaken our own power.
Tikkun Olam isn’t a zero sum game. We can absolutely help ourselves and others. And by “we” I mean that no one can do it all. Each person makes their own choices for using their energies and time: some do organizing for legislation that benefits Jews and other minorities, others help fund-raising for local food banks, others work with immigrant rights. Whenever we work for the benefit of the needy, we strengthen our own community. If the work is done as efforts by Jews, it teaches non-Jews about our real values and worth as neighbors.
You missed the whole point of this essay. First you look after yourself. Jews must be aware of their needs and their own safety. That should be more important than involving yourself with people who want to kill you and your family no matter how oppressed they may appear to be. A lot of this modern Tikun Olam nonsense is causing antisemitism. Just take George Soros as an example! The Reform movement has only spread this problem. Again as in history we are working towards our own destruction.
I did not “miss the point” of the essay. I simply disagree with some of it. The values of Tikkun Olam are certainly not “nonsense” to me and the many people who were/are raised with that idea. Also, saying that defending others is the same as “involving yourself with people who want to kill you and your family” sounds paranoid to me. I’m not discounting the existence of real antisemitism and people who blame Jews for the world’s inequities. Not at all. There are security guards at my synagogue for good reasons. But your example of mentioning George Soros as some kind of prime example of something bad tells me that you might believe a lot of things that I won’t agree with. That’s ok. We don’t need to agree. But please don’t accuse me of not valuing my own life or the lives of my family. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Agree. George Soros (and family) & Bernie Sanders (as two examples) are two clear examples of mis-guided Jews who are antisemites and hate Israel!
Good article and overview of this concept of Tikun O'lam. But as some of the comments miss the execution, let me expound with another two points:
1. "Be a light unto the nations." We live in our promised land, keep the morals of our laws and customs. It is up to the rest of the world, not the Jew/Israel to change them. As the old light bulb jokes goes "but the light bulb must want to change."
2. Also, as it says in the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 71a. “The poor of your city and the poor of another city – the poor of your city come first.”
You go way too far in equating the two "camps" one camp, the Democratic one, has literally made it impossible for a candidate to stand behind Israel and has turned AIPAC, once a bi-partisan lobby, into the equivalent of the KKK. The other almost entirely supports Israel and opposes the Palestinian National Murder Cult. They are not equivalent. Ot could change but this is where we are right now.
Look kids Tikkun Olam was shown to be a useful phrase that means everything to every and anybody who wields it to ‘inspire’ or ‘shame’. It lost its value the minute the Kenyan uttered it.
Nevertheless here we are reading a wonderful article on it ( I mean no kidding, clear, well referenced and articulated ) and discussing it like it’s going to do something to clarify and help our position here in the NA Diaspora.
If I may add my 2 cents to the discussion. The fucking Cossacks are right down the street and are about to start kicking the doors in. Strap Up, Ammo up and get good within 25 feet. You can count the number of Angels on the head of a pin either after the battle’s won or on your way to the ovens.
Wake up! Wanna read something that might help… try Jabotinsky!
Only people who overdosed virtue signalling as a means of denial to suppress second generation trauma can swallow this weaponized poison pill. Sadly the price for being inauthentic is high.
"repairing the world might occasionally mean Jews should stop worrying quite so much about the Jews."
All Jews, and by that we mean ALL Jews are under the obligation of Tikkun Olam to repair the world in the name of social justice. For dead Jews, it means it might take a little longer, but it does not relieve them of their obligation.
Social justice is not part of the Jewish tradition. The Jewish tradition consists of justice under the law and mitzvot.
Like the other commenter, also missed the satirical note.
There never has been social justice. Humans are too diverse. They cannot be homogenized into a uniform collective. That is the stuff of dystopian fiction.
Okay, satire.
But not very well done.
You’re an idiot, puck!
Nonsense! Did you read and understand anything in this article!
Alas, you missed the satire.
"for dead Jews it might take longer" What does that even mean??
Obviously dead people can do nothing.
It was a bit of satire intended to expose the absurdity of using Tikkun Olam, a rabbinic concept, as a call for Jews to support Social Justice objectives, which ideologically would turn Jews against themselves. Very clever tactic.
By the way, Social Justice is Critical Race Theory wrapped in moral jargon. Something people might want to consider before they take to the streets and campuses and Media.
He’s a f..idiot, that’s what it means!