SPIRIT

W

hether your background is 
Reform, Conservative or 
Orthodox, the term tikkun 
olam occupies a special place in Jewish 
practice. It is the teaching that we are 
here to try to fix, even per-
fect, this imperfect world 
through a variety of posi-
tive actions. 
But there seems to be 
quite a disparity as to what 
kinds of actions this refers 
to. Many Jews view tik-
kun olam as having a very 
specific role, with social action being the 
focus. However, when we look at tikkun 
olam from a fresh perspective, we see 
that it is not so Jewish in origin, but it 
is so very Jewish in defining our unique 
purpose.
For starters, we are often told that this 
is a uniquely Jewish belief. However, we 
see that all of humanity is involved in this 
pursuit, not because they learned it in 
Hebrew school or yeshivah. Most of the 
world population never met a Jew, but 
many are doing tikkun olam daily.
The fact is that tikkun olam is not 
Jewish in nature and it is not even a belief. 
It is universal in nature and something 
that all humans are hard-wired to accom-
plish. People throughout the world, of all 
backgrounds and belief systems, want to 
make the world a better place to live in. 

They do not necessarily do it out of belief. 
Most people naturally find that it 
feels good to help another person, solve 
a problem no matter how small or fix 
something that’s broken. Those with 
children do it because they want their 
children to live in a better world. These 
seemingly mundane acts not related to 
social action add up over time to help 
improve our world in all sorts of ways, 
big and small. People everywhere feel in 
their gut that this is part of their purpose 
in life. 
As proud as we Jews are of the high 
percentage of Jewish Nobel Prize winners, 
most of the world’s scientific, governmen-
tal, technological and material progress 
has been made through non-Jews. 
In my book, Eight Paths of Purpose, I 
explain eight different applications of 
tikkun olam, which all of humanity can 
fulfill. Social action is but one of them. 
These paths propose that we make tik-
kun olam a practical part of life for every 
human being. We have opportunities to 
fulfill our purpose in life and to answer 
the call of tikkun olam every day. It is not 
reserved just for lofty goals and accom-
plishments, but needs to be applied to our 
mundane lives, including the tests and 
obstacles we face. 
So, you may wonder, is there any 
unique Jewish connection to tikkun 
olam? The answer is a powerful yes. 

From the times of Abraham and Sarah 
(more than 3,700 years ago), Jews have 
taught the world about values, morals, 
mitzvos and the belief in monotheism. 
Through the centuries, basic Jewish values 
have been accepted by billions. Christianity 
and Islam built their systems on the foun-
dation of the Torah. Our impact on world 
history has been totally out of proportion 
to our numbers; not necessarily because of 
what we fixed but rather because of what 
we taught the world. 
We continue this tradition by striving 
to serve as a “light amongst the nations” 
(the prophet Isaiah) and by teaching our 
children not only how to “fix the world,” 
but also how to draw God’s presence down 
even to the most mundane aspects of life. 
 This effort is what we refer to three 
times a day in the Aleinu prayer — 
“L’takain olam b’malchus Sha-dai” (fixing the 
world in God’s dominion — a term cred-
ited to Joshua more than 3,200 years ago). 
This is something uniquely Jewish!
So, don’t stop making the world a better 
place but do also remember to align your-
selves with this unique Jewish approach to 
tikkun olam that looks at the potential for 
every act, no matter its size, to be an act of 
tikkun olam. It’s the Jewish thing to do. 

Rabbi Tuvia Teldon is the founder and regional 
director of Chabad on Long Island, New York. He 
serves on the executive committee of Chabad.org. 

Tikkun Olam —

Rabbi Tuvia 
Teldon

32 | JUNE 3 • 2021 

It’s Not 
Just a Jewish 
Concept

