Tikkun olam

Tikkun olam (/tiˈkuːn ʌˈlɑːm/; Hebrew: תִּיקּוּן עוֹלָם, romanized: tiqqūn ʻōlām, lit. 'repairing the world') 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, it refers to the eradication of idolatry. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the "repair" is mystical: to return the sparks of Divine light to their source employing 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 appears in the Mishnah in the phrase "for the sake of repairing the world" (Hebrew: מִפְּנֵי תִקּוּן הָעוֹלָם, lit. 'mippənē t̲iqqun hāʿolām', Gittin 4:2–9) with the meaning of amending the law to keep society well-functioning.

Several legal enactments appear in this passage with "for the sake of repairing the world" given as justification:

More generally, tikkun can mean improvement, establishment, repair, preparation, and other related concepts. In the Mishnaic context, it generally refers to practical legal measures taken in the present to ameliorate social conditions. In the legal language of the Talmud, however, the verb took on a much more legalistic role, in that a takkana "affixation" was a category of legal enactment made by the Chazal.

A conception of tikkun olam is also found in the Aleinu, a concluding part of most Jewish congregational prayer, which in contrast to the Mishnah's usage, focuses on the end of time. The Aleinu beseeches God:

לראות מהרה בתפארת עוזך, להעביר גלולים מן הארץ והאלילים כרות יכרתון לתקן עולם במלכות ש-די