with Rabbi Lee Bycel
What is tikkun olam and why is it particularly important now?
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I would translate the Hebrew words tikkun olam as “fixing the world.” It’s a notion that goes back a long way in Judaism – to the Torah or the Jewish bible – and it deals with how you treat the poor, the hungry, and the needy. The Torah gives us imperatives, not options. It is very specific, for example, about leaving a certain quantity of crops in the field for the poor and not withholding wages.
In the past century, tikkun olam has taken on a contemporary meaning of employing our skills, abilities and wealth to enable the poor, hungry and needy to get food, water, shelter and hope – what every human being is entitled to.
Tikkun olam is different from social action. To me, it’s closer to social justice. Social action has a connotation of choice. It’s something we do on a special day, when we make time for it. Social justice – considering how to make the global community a more just place – is part of the framework of our daily life.
Tikkun olam is particularly important during the holiday season. Holidays are a wonderful time for celebration with family and friends and for counting the blessings in our life. They are also a poignant time to be aware that most people in the world do not live as comfortably as we do in this country. We have much to be grateful for. In Judaism, gratitude is linked inextricably to action. What can we do to make it possible for more people to have part of what we have?
During the holidays, families might work at a food kitchen or homeless shelter or might give tzedakah, or a contribution, to a charity that you choose as a family. We can’t take food or clothes to Congo or Darfur, but we can give money that allows others to provide those services. I suggest spending some time learning about the charity that interests your family, checking it out online on Charity Navigator, and then sending your check with a personal letter explaining why you chose it.
Perhaps this holiday season can be marked not by what we receive, but by what we give.
Rabbi Lee Bycel is the West Coast director of American Jewish World Service, an international development agency dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world.
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