Will the Real Tikun Olam Please Stand Up?

What is Tikun Olam and What It Means to be a Jew

The concept often used by secularist Jews to rationalize their attachment to humanistic projects, and their detachment from Jewish tradition and ritual, is Tikun Olam. In this context, they use the idea of Tikun, roughly translated as Fixing or Improving, to mean that a Jew is put into this world to fix something. Fix what? Olam, the World. The concept comes from the words in the Oleinu prayer at the end of each service. Le’sakein olam b’malchus Sha’dai.

They are missing several ideas here. The words Tikun and Olam are used literally. We know, however, that Chazal often use everyday expressions in presenting spiritual concepts since everyday language is more easily conveyed and remembered. The word Olam when used as other than the purely corporeal actually connotes the idea of Helem, hidden, veiled. This is the veiled nature of G-d and His hidden spirituality in what is the supposed reality of the corporeal world.

The Midrash uses the phrase “Ein Tzur K’Elokeinu” to mean “Ein Tzayor”. Tzur, which means rock, is thus used homiletically to alter the meaning to Tzayor or Painter. Hashem is called the Painter of creation. How do we gauge the talent and success of a painter when viewing his creations? A painter who can express in his artistry a sense of reality so genuine, that the painting looks almost real is considered a genius. How much more so is G-d who painted creation so real, that we actually call it Reality. In this, then, is hidden the concealed nature of G-d’s spirituality in this world.

The world and creation as we perceive them are controlled by the forces of Nature. Hidden from our ordinary view, however, is the concept that the world is governed by G-d; the idea of Hashgocho Protis. The world, the Olam, “veils” the true Ruler of creation. The Midrash says that G-d desired to dwell in the lower regions of creation and therefore created Man, epitomized by the Jew, to serve G-d through Torah study, mitzvos, and prayer. And yes, kindness to others. Our purpose, then, is to instill and inspire into this corporeal world the spiritual nature originating within each of us. Therein lays the concept of Man being created in the image of G-d. It doesn’t mean that Man actually looks like G-d. It means that our inner souls are part of the G-dly spirituality that He created and placed within each Jew.

The word Tikun, besides meaning to Repair, also means to Establish a foundation. A Jew accordingly, has a dual purpose within creation. He must Repair the fact that G-d and spirituality are hidden by the corporeal curtain of this world. Tikun Olam, thus means unveiling the hidden concepts within creation so that all can understand and actually perceive G-dliness within Nature. The second purpose, using the idea of Tikun as foundation, is utilizing those unveiled concepts of spirituality as a foundation for our daily lives, and for interacting with the corporeal world.

What all this gives us on a daily basis is that we can perform this dichotomy of individual purpose in this world with our daily living. Our actions, both spiritual, performing religious rituals and observing halacha, and corporeal, the way we interact with others and how we convey ourselves and various acts of kindness to others, will both “fix” the corporeal world by showing them how a human is supposed to look and act, and be a foundation in our lives so that we constantly strive to better ourselves and the world around us. All this within the realm of spirituality governed by halacha and Torah and using this to unveil the Helem within the Olam.

Prologue to Pirkei Avos or Ethics of Our Fathers

One of the oldest traditions observed during the period between Pesach and Shavuos, and subsequently through the summer months, is the learning each Shabbos of a chapter of Pirkei Avos Chapters of the Tractate Avos, or Ethics of Our Fathers. Why is this particular Tractate a part of the Talmud and why is this a Tractate? The Talmud is a set of Tractates, each concerned with a particular set of religious or civil laws. There are no laws in Ethics of Our Fathers. It consists of 6 chapters, containing mishnayos or sub-chapter headings, of ethical teachings. There aren't any religious concepts here. All the teachings are those that a humane civil society would expect.

Our Sages in the Tractate Baba Kama tell us, if you want to be considered a Chasid (not to be confused with the modern term), which can be loosely translated as an ethical person, learn civil jurisprudence and make sure that you adhere to its teachings and rules. Rava says, learn Avos or ethical concepts. Rava also says, learn about the Blessings for various reasons, such as prior to eating. In light of that, Rabbi Yehuda who compiled the six-sectioned set of Mishna, placed Pirkei Avos in the set of civil laws, Nezikin. But the question still remains. Ethics aren’t laws. Why place a book on ethics in a civil law course? And why are the three various reasons on becoming a Chasid or ethical person connected to civil laws?

First let's understand the three concepts given to become a Chasid. First is to learn civil laws, or how to interact with others in our society. Second is to learn ethics, or how to make oneself a better person. Third is to learn the laws of Blessing, or how to show gratitude to G-d for all the good He gives us. These three areas are the three general areas that a person is in constant contact and with whom a person has personal interaction. In order to become a whole individual, a person should learn how to interact with everybody in his sphere.

Next is the question of why is Avos or Ethical teachings in Nezikin? The answer is that the concept of Jewish ethics and the reason why we adhere to them is different than the secular concept of ethics. We are taught that all our daily actions should be directed by a desire to serve G-d. There’s an interesting Mishna that concerns itself with the burning of incense in the Temple. The Mishna states that if we add honey to the incense nobody would be able to stand the smell, the aroma being so intensely sweet and desirable. The Mishna then states, “and why don’t we add honey to the incense? Because the Torah states that no honey or leavening be burnt upon the altar”. Wait, didn’t we just say that we don’t add honey because the aroma is so powerful? The answer is yes, the aroma is powerful, but we have to understand that this is a human reason, but we must live our lives by the dictates of the Torah. We don’t add honey because the Torah STATES that we don’t add honey, not because human reason understands that we can’t add honey. By placing Pirkei Avos, Ethics of Our Fathers, in the civil law Mishanayos we show that we adhere to ethics because it’s part of our religious legal structure, not because human reason says that we should be ethical.

The same is true for the three concepts explained earlier. We become a Chasid or Ethical individual by adhering to the three concepts, civil laws, ethics and blessings, not because our intellect tells us to do that. Intellectually we understand that a person should adhere to civil laws, should be whole with oneself and should show gratitude to G-d for giving us whatever we need. But the reason we do all this is because G-d has commanded us to be ethical individuals.

Each week before we start the actual learning of the Perek or chapter, we say a Mishna from another Tractate. The Mishna states as follows:
The entire nation (all Jewish people) of Israel has a portion in the World to Come (generally meaning the afterlife). As it is stated: And your Nation are all Righteous people, and forever will they inherit the earth (meaning that everybody will inherit a portion of Olam Haboh or the World to Come).

Wait, aren’t we talking about the World to Come, not earth. What’s this about everybody inheriting the earth as being proof that everybody has a portion in the afterlife? I think we can explain it like this. Every Jewish soul is given a barren piece of the Olam Haboh, the World to Come. Call it G-d’s Little Acre if you will. Our mission is to sow this spiritual land, irrigate it, make sure it receives light and in general tend to the land so to speak. What are the spiritual seeds, water, and light?

We say in the morning prayers prior to Shema Yisroel, that G-d sows righteousness and hence sprouts redemption and creates healing. We see from these words of prayer that acts of righteousness can be construed as “seeds”. The Torah is often stated as being the Water of Life. And the Mitzvos that we are commanded to observe and do are called a “Light”. So here we have our requirements for growing our barren tract of spiritual land. By learning Torah, thus acquiring “Water”, by living our lives according to the Torah, thus acquiring a “Light” to lead our lives, and by doing acts of righteousness, thus acquiring the needed “Seeds”, we can tend to our spiritual garden and make it bloom. Each different type of deed and Mitzvah will grow into various spiritual flowers and fruits and shady trees, giving us a beautiful glorious spiritual garden in which to live our afterlife. And Hell? Imagine standing in that still barren tract because you didn’t do any righteous acts and didn’t learn Torah and didn’t live your life according to the Torah. And then looking over to your neighbor’s gorgeous garden. Hell isn’t it? Appropriate thoughts before learning the Ethics of Our Fathers aren’t they.