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Concept
Tikkun olam
Summary
Tikkun olam () is a concept in Judaism, which refers to various forms of action intended to repair and improve the world.
In classical rabbinic literature, the phrase referred to legal enactments intended to preserve the social order. In the Aleinu prayer, it refers to the eradication of idolatry. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the "repair" is mystical: to return the sparks of Divine light to their source by means of ritual performance.
In the modern era, particularly among the post-Haskalah movements, tikkun olam has come to refer to the pursuit of social justice or "the establishment of Godly qualities throughout the world" based on the idea that "Jews bear responsibility not only for their own moral, spiritual, and material welfare, but also for the welfare of society at large".
The earliest use of the term tikkun olam comes in the phrase mip'nei tikkun ha-olam, "for the sake of repairing the world", which appears in the Mishnah (Gittin 4:2-9) with the meaning of amending the law in order to keep society well-functioning.
A number of legal enactments appear in this passage with mip'nei tikkun ha-olam given as justification:
One cannot convene a court in another place in order to nullify a get (divorce document). (4:2)
One must fully specify the names of the husband and wife on a divorce document. (4:2)
A widow can collect her ketubah even without a formal oath. (4:3)
Witnesses must sign the divorce document. (4:3)
Prozbul was instituted. (4:3)
If a slaveowner set aside his slave as a designated repayment for his debts, the slave is forced to be freed but the responsibility to repay the debt is transferred to the slave. (4:4)
If a slave's ownership is shared by two masters, and one master frees the slave, the second master is forced to free his share of ownership in the slave (making the slave entirely free) but the slave must repay this value. (4:5)
Captives are not redeemed for more than their monetary value. (4:6)
Captives are not aided in their attempts to escape (so that captors do not make the conditions of captivity more restrictive, or else so that captors do not take revenge on other captives).
Official source
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