Healing the world

In Jewish teachings, the Hebrew phrase Tikkun Olam refers to any activity that improves the state of the world to bring it into harmony. Tikkun roughly translates as ‘repair,' while Olam connotes the world’.

Repairing the world need not be a monumental task, such as starting a non-profit organisation to help alleviate poverty. It can be a simple act of picking up the litter in the park, switching off the electrical gadgets when not in use, teaching children to avoid waste, emphasising the value of recycling, or any act of kindness like giving medical attention to a sick mongrel, and so on.

Tikkun Olam started as a rabbinic concept of amending ancient laws to improve living conditions. Since the 1950s, it has been reinterpreted to mean that the people inhabiting this earth have the responsibility to maintain a healthy balance in the world. Thus, "repairing the world" has become synonymous with various social action and social justice activities.

Our accomplishments on this earth are utterly dependent on the gift of natural resources, such as the Sun, soil, and water. The notion of God’s ownership of the Earth reminds us that we are all dependent on gifts that are not of our own making. Tikkun Olam implies that we have an obligation to care for the earth. We should care for it as if it were a precious gift on loan to us from God. Our ancestors never imagined the advent of human ability to radically alter the face of the planet with nuclear weapons and climate-changing pollution. Thus, keeping the world habitable for future generations has become the literal focus of Tikkun Olam. Yet, Tikkun Olam is not for political activists and environmentalists alone; it’s the responsibility of everyone to fix any damage and improve upon it.

Our earth is the artistic expression of our creator. But unlike Ravi Varma or Van Gogh, our Creator’s name is not revealed explicitly. But with each ‘Tikkun,' when a meaning is created out of confusion or harmony from noise, the creator is no longer hidden but shines through in magnificent beauty, and a universal symphony is born in praise of the Creator. The Israelite Prophet Isaiah declares, "Not for desolation did He create the world; He formed it to be settled".