JULY 29 • 2021 | 15

T

ikkun olam means repair-
ing the world, and Rabbi
Marla Feldman calls for
Jews and everyone who cares
about the world to engage in
social justice.
Feldman is executive director
of New York City-based Women
of Reform Judaism. Look at the
group’s website and see the God-
embedded actions of tikkun olam
— from American race relations
to poverty to women’s repro-
ductive rights and genocide and
to the creation of Israel and the
peace process with Palestinians.
Feldman’s activism, which
began in her youth, has informed
her role as a pioneering female
rabbi and a brave and bold leader.
She had to weather wage inequali-
ty. She was rejected by some syna-
gogues because she was a woman.
Nonetheless, she has evolved into
an effective leader who has cared
for her congregations and worked
on struggles like combating geno-

cide in Bosnia and Darfur and
rescuing Ethiopian Jews.
She worked as assistant director
of the Jewish Community Council
of Metropolitan Detroit from
1996-2002 and taught Holocaust
Studies at the University of
Detroit-Mercy from 1998-2001.
Feldman is devoted to Reform
Judaism and its basic covenant:
Jews are obligated to partner with
God and each other to make the
world a better place. We are all
made in the image of God, and
thus everyone is valuable. For
Feldman’s flock, this means includ-
ing all types of people like those
with different gender identities,
those from different backgrounds,
women and people of color.
“There needs to be space for
everyone where anyone can walk
in the door,
” she said.
The scourge of genocide in
the world is one area where
Feldman has passionate beliefs.
Overcoming the unthinkable

practice of mass murder is a
momentous task, but God and
humans have a role in repair-
ing the overwhelming damage,
Feldman said. Moreover, because
of the Holocaust, she said she and
fellow Jews understand the gravity
of the wretched crime, and thus,
are especially poised to mend it.
Feldman said caring humans
and their emotional relationship
with God can end atrocity and
restore humane morality. As she
helped with Bosnia and Darfur,
humans can protest genocides by
placing it on the public radar and
urging the world to intervene.
When the evil ends, people can
rebuild human relations. Feldman
explains how genocide is about
dehumanizing others. Thus, see-
ing each other as equally human
can mitigate genocides from ever
happening again.

HELPING THE NEEDY
Helping the poor is a paramount
purpose in Judaism. Feldman said
the Torah tells Jews they have a
duty to help the poor. She went on
to say that Maimonides, the great
Jewish scholar and sincere think-
er, delineated what this means for
Jews. As they partner with God,
generous givers need to partner
with the poor. The giver’s success
is linked to the poor person’s
success. Their relationship means
that the poor can escape poverty
and keep what they earned so
they can be self-sufficient.
Feldman refers to a passage
from Isaiah that is often told on
Yom Kippur, “
And if you draw
your soul to the hungry and sat-
isfy the afflicted soul, then shall
your light to a rise in darkness …
And then Lord shall guide you
continually and satisfy your soul.
”
Feldman has mixed views on
the social safety net. She thinks it
has gaps that must be addressed
to help the needy. One example is
wage inequality for women. For
sure, as women head many fami-
lies, they face poverty and cannot
provide for their families when
they are underpaid, Feldman said.

Nonetheless, she said
Americans can be proud of the
heroic progress they have made
dealing with poverty. Feldman
agrees that policies for women
like Women Infants and Children
(WIC), a nutrition program, and
President Biden’s child tax credit,
which will reduce child poverty by
a half, are good and sensible poli-
cies. Moreover, she said the fortifi-
cation of Medicare and Medicaid
is good for all Americans.

RACIAL RELATIONS
Race in America is another area
that Feldman cares about. Because
Jews were enslaved in Egypt and
were treated like pariahs, they
can identify and have solidarity
with African Americans and their
privation.
Feldman rues the structural
racism in America. When asked
why it matters, she said: “The
simple one-word answer is: jus-
tice. If we live in a society that is
just then we need to treat people
equally and fairly.
”
She discussed policy challenges
that must be addressed in the
criminal justice system. She said
the overincarceration of African
American men and the school-
to-prison pipeline are particularly
deleterious. Feldman believes
that Americans must have a deep
conversation about the roots of
racism in America. “This discus-
sion, I believe, can give Americans
of all races and religions hope for
racial reconciliation.
“The suffering in the world
needs good care and a momen-
tous love to mend it. Tikkun olam
teaches us how to effect such
change. With God’s help, we can
heal the sick and clothe the naked;
we can nurture goodness and tol-
erance; we can free innocents and
we can save lives in a turbulent
world,
” she said.
Feldman added: “It’s not going
to happen with one person or one
community. It’s going to require
people of good will who share
common values coming together
to live those values.
”

CAROLINE CUNNINGHAM CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rabbi Marla
Feldman

Repairing
the World

Ex-Detroiter Marla Feldman is a
moving advocate for tikkun olam.