Tikkun Olam is a politicised import into

WHEN YOU think of the concept of “Tikkun Olam”, what does it mean to you?

“To heal/fix the world”, perhaps; or, on a more practical level, to be involved with social action projects?

There certainly does not appear to be anything wrong with that concept. The problem arises, however, when you consider that in some quarters there appears to be a growing emphasis on Tikkun Olam as the be-all and end-all of Judaism — to the exclusion of everything else. And in some places, especially in America, that process appears to be quite advanced.

This is the argument put forward by Jonathan Neumann, a UK based lawyer, in his book on the subject, To Heal the World?: How the Jewish Left Corrupts Judaism and Endangers Israel.

Mr Neumann implores people to read beyond the book’s title — which is probably wise, given that he will be speaking on the subject at Limmud,

Snot exactly a place the “Jewish Left” stays away from.

So what is Tikkun Olam?

“Tikkun Olam has never meant ‘charity’ and ‘good works’ in the Jewish tradition,” the 31-yearold lawyer says.

“There are other terms and concepts for that — ‘Chessed’, ‘Darchei Shalom’, ‘gemilut chassadim’ — Tikkun Olam has never meant any of those things. It essentially means, or is understood as, ‘social justice’, a particular kind of Jewish social justice, but it’s never really had this meaning.”

He describes “social justice” as “a political, liberal ideology, covering a whole gamut of issues, particularly in US politics, from taxes to abortion.” He stresses that “Judaism does not mandate [this interpretation of] Tikkun Olam. But it does mandate charity and good works, both to Jews and to non-Jews.”

What proponents of Tikkun Olam put forward, he says, is “the idea that the general politics of social justice are ‘Social justice’ and Jewish charity are not the same, says Neumann (top left) rooted within Judaism, and that somehow Jewish tradition and Jewish texts endorse these views”.

He explains that “the advocates of this approach point to a number of texts — the ‘Aleinu’ prayer, some parts of Talmud and the Midrashim, the Lurianic Kabbalah, and so on — and the appearances of Tikkun Olam in the rabbinic corpus.

“But if you actually look at these sources, which is what I do in the book, chapter by chapter, none of them say what the advocates of Tikkun Olam claim that they say — in some cases, they even seem to say the opposite. Tikkun Olam is essentially a foreign import into Judaism.

“It is too much of a coincidence to think that this ancient religion and civilisation could coincide so wondrously with the platform of the liberal-left Democratic party in the 21st century US. I mean, it’s ridiculous.”

Mr Neumann is British, but lived for a few years in the US, where he experienced this phenomenon first hand.

“For Anglo-Jewry and Anglo-Judaism, Tikkun Olam is nowhere near as influential and hegemonic as it is in the US,” he says.

“From books for infants through school curricula, programmes for adolescents, campus initiatives and then synagogue committees, sermons from