Back to the Future

Tikkun Olam. It’s a phrase that most of us have heard, but few have thought much about. The term is used by many different types of Jews, from environmentalists, peace activists, to those involved in what is called “social justice.” Literally, Tikkun Olam means to repair or perfect the world under G-d’s providence. It is included in the Aleinu, a Jewish prayer that is traditionally recited three times a day. The prayer talks about a time when all the people of the world will abandon false gods and recognize the one true G-d.

Jews are supposed to become partners with G-d in perfecting or repairing the world, a pretty lofty goal, and if true, a task that should not be taken lightly.

But if we are instructed to repair the world, how did the world become broken in the first place? Couldn’t G-d have created a perfect world, or fix it Himself? Why do we need to be involved in its repair? Well, the answers to these questions are both simple and quite complex.

When Adam was created by having a human soul blown into his nostrils, he was given a perfect world in which to live, the Garden of Eden. He was even given his perfect soul mate, Eve, to share his life with. The story could have ended there, with both of them living in the idyllic world that G-d had created for them.

However, Adam and Eve were also created with something very special that separated them from the animals. They were given both the ability to speak, and were created with free will, allowing them to make moral choices. G-d did not create humans to be robots, programmed to do only good, but in order for man to have the greatest pleasure, he was given the ability to earn his reward, and choose between doing good or bad.

After Adam and Eve were created, humans were given the first opportunity to use their free will. The Torah states, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, you must not eat….”

The sages teach that when Adam and Eve were created, they were given an absolute knowledge of right and wrong. Although they had the ability to make moral choices, Adam and Eve also had the clarity of ultimate right and wrong. Here is where the story gets very interesting. By failing to follow the one dietary law that they were given,(not to eat of the fruit), Adam and Eve changed human history resulting in the requirement to “repair the world”.

As children, we have been taught the story of how the clever serpent tempted Eve to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil, and how she and Adam succumbed to this temptation, however few of us have paid attention to the details of the story. When the serpent tempted Eve he said, “G-d knows that on the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like G-d, knowing good and bad.” The sages point out that after eating of the fruit, Adam and Eve were then able to be like G-d, having the ability to determine for themselves what is good and what is bad. This allowed humans to rationalize their behavior, determining what is right or wrong in their own eyes, regardless of ultimate right and wrong. Thus we have the result of a “broken world” in need of repair. But how, specifically, are Jews supposed to begin the daunting task of repairing or perfecting the world, and where in our Bible are we instructed to perform it?

Jews have been given a mission from G-d to be a “Light unto the Nations”, as we are described in the book of Isaiah and to be a “Holy Nation and a Kingdom of Priests” as we are instructed in the Torah.

How are Jews to be a Kingdom of Priests? The commentaries say that just as the Kohens are Priests and teachers to the Jewish people, the Jewish people are to be the Priests and teachers to the rest of the world, instructing the world in G-dly values, specifically the seven universal laws, called the Seven Laws of Noah.

By doing this mission, we can start to repair the world, teaching values of right and wrong to the entire world. We can do this task by personal example, being the friendliest customer in the store while wearing our kippah, being the best employee at work, performing educational outreach to Jews and non Jews alike, or donating to organizations that specialize in doing this important work. By showing kindness and a smile to all those who we encounter on a daily basis, Jews and non Jews will be impressed, and want to know more about our G-d, and His teachings. This is one way that Jews become a “Light unto the Nations.”

Doing this mission properly can help correct the sin of Adam and will have a profound effect on the future of the Jewish people and the entire world. world. By correcting the sins of the past we will have become partners with G-d in perfecting the world, ushering in the Messianic era. We can then return to the “Garden of Eden”, completing the plan that G-d had originally laid out for us all those 5,774 years ago. It’s not necessarily our job to complete the mission, but it is our responsibility to take the first step. If not now, when?