Jews in America getting Tikkun Olam all wrong
Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew term that roughly translates to “repairing the world,” has a long history in Judaism, originating in classical rabbinic literature and 16th-century Kabbalistic thought.
Historically, the phrase referred to a form of “repair” achieved through performing religious acts, thereby separating what is holy from the physical realm and leading to higher transcendence.
The term has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, particularly among the American-Jewish left. In fact, it is so commonly used in liberal circles that it has become something of a punchline. In one joke, an American Jew visiting Israel asks her tour guide, “How do you say tikkun olam in Hebrew?”
But this contemporary usage has little to nothing to do with the term’s spiritual origins. Rather, activist-minded Jewish liberals treat Tikkun Olam as a synonym for “social justice,” referring to acts of civic responsibility meant to “repair” the political and social ills of the world.
Tikkun Olam has come to refer to things like “allyship,” “supporting marginalized communities,” “championing diverse voices” or simply just adopting progressive politics, all in the name of some alleged ancient Jewish commitment to fighting injustice and uplifting the oppressed. Some Jews seem to interpret Tikkun Olam as simply “voting for the Democratic party.”
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This modern usage is a bastardization of a term with spiritual roots that calls for acts of prayer, religious ritual and meditation. It also misunderstands the originally intended scope of the term, which was meant to refer to highly specific individual instances and adjustments to how existing rules were applied within Jewish society, not to a broad expansion of what Jews must do to “repair the world.”
But much more importantly, the prevalence of this contemporary usage has advanced a silly mainstream Jewish perspective, according to which the needs and self-interest of our community are overlooked in favor of an unquestioned commitment to politics that do not serve and in many cases actively reject us.
Over the past four years, Tikkun Olam has been used to encourage Jews to support Black Lives Matter, Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, and countless other activist-minded organizations that call on “privileged” people to devote their time and resources to unlearning their own biases and helping oppressed groups like African-Americans and the Palestinians. Countless American Jews lumped themselves in with the “privileged” and heeded these calls — but what do they have to show for all their allyship and donations?
Days after Hamas ruthlessly slaughtered 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, Black Lives Matter put out a statement in solidarity with the “Palestinian resistance,” saying they stand “unwaveringly on the side of the oppressed.” Jewish Voice for Peace and its counterparts have shown themselves to be fronts for a radical progressive ideology that elevates terrorists like Rasmea Odeh, finances its activities with dark money and treats a few token Jews as front pieces while calling for policies that heighten antisemitism and harm Jewish interests.
It’s easy for a Reform Jew from the Upper West Side who has never dealt with antisemitism of any kind to minimize the issue of antisemitism. But there are many Jews in our broader family from all over the globe who carry the hard lessons and traumas of history close to our hearts and see the rising Jew-hate as an existential threat to be battled, not a minor gripe to be shrugged aside.
It doesn’t matter whether you voted for Trump or spent months championing BLM; in the eyes of our enemies, you’re still a Jew, a member of a so-called “privileged” group whose successes are unearned and need to be eradicated. These enemies are no longer abstract concepts; they are powerful forces that wield real cultural and political influence in America and show absolutely no sign of stopping.
Opposing these threats should be the way Jews choose to “repair the world” this year, not by devoting our energy to organizations and people who pay us no mind.
Sheila Nazarian is an Iranian-American plastic surgeon and television personality.
