Liberat.es
What it is to be a community.
One of the tenets of Judaism is Tikun Olam — to repair the world. This centers social justice and working to bring equity into the world. Where there are wrongs, we must work to right them. I find it to be one of the most compelling aspects of the tradition. If we work together, we can see the world change.
There are a lot of reasons today to be cynical. One can look at what I just wrote in the first paragraph and summize that there is a naiveté in Judaism1. But what Tikun Olam does not mean is you (individual person) have to fix everything. No. What it means is that you must do your part. You must find what is yours to heal, and do that work.
You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.
We are all necessary. Each of us has their role to fulfill. This is how the world gets healed. This is how we all get healed. Indeed, my healing — my liberation — is bound up in yours.
We need one another.
One year ago today, I wrote this piece. Funny how it connects with the above.
In some ways, there is. But we can argue that naiveté is necessary to change the world. Perhaps I’ll share some thoughts on that soon.↩