“Where can we fit in Tikkun Olam?” We, a group of Jewish educators, asked ourselves this question in planning for the coming summer at Six Points SciTech Academy, the new URJ Jewish Science and Technology camp outside of Boston. Kids spend several weeks during the summer learning in tracks that include, among others, robotics, ecology and video game design. Rather than teaching Judaism in side forums, certain Jewish values are deeply integrated into the intensive learning that takes place at camp: values like taglit (discovery), sakranut (curiosity), and kavod (respect). But what about tikkun olam, the mending of the world though social action, social justice, and general improvement of all that we encounter?
In some ways, tikkun olam seems separate. It is an area where we can focus with an evening program. How does science help to improve the world? But there’s another way (a better way?) of approaching tikkun olam.
One way of understanding science is through two divisions: pure science (sometimes called basic or theoretical science) and applied science. Pure science’s goal is simply to increase knowledge and understanding of the world around us, while applied science’s goal is to address particular problems. Pure science is often favored by scientists who wish to simply learn more, without knowing where the acquired knowledge might take them. Applied science is often preferred by those who fund the experiments, hoping that what is discovered will make a difference in [enter desired cause here]. Pure science was the Human Genome Project, seeking to map the entire Human Genome to know more. Applied science is taking knowledge from the Human Genome Project to identify, treat and cure genetic diseases. Pure science is the Fermi particle accelerator, costing many countries billions of dollars, to understand how particles operate in different circumstances, and possibly even the origins of the universe. Applied science is searching for knowledge of quantum particles to help us develop faster computer processors and find new ways to travel through space. Applied sciences start with a “how to” question, while pure sciences are more of a “let’s explore and see what we find.” Pure science, through random discovery, gave us Penicillin and X-rays. While they may have totally separate goals, both are entirely necessary and connected.
I see tikkun olam as one of Judaism’s applied sciences. Pure science for us is Torah Lishma. Torah for the sake of learning. Praying for the sake of praying. Ritual observance because it connects us. And these Jewish behaviors are so very important. They nourish our souls, they feed our communities, and they foster meaningful living.
But they do not exist in a bubble. The growth that comes out of Torah lishma leads us to action. To understanding values like kavod and taglit, and applying them to the world we encounter around us. Listening to sermons on social justice leads us to act in our communities around us. Learning about interactions between our ancestors in the Torah leads us to emulate or improve upon their behavior in our own interactions with others.
When we read in the morning service, eilu d’varim she’ein lahem shi’ur—these are the mitzvot without measure, we learn that we must engage in acts like honoring our parents, rejoicing with the couple getting married, and visiting the sick, and we also learn, talmud torah k’neged kulam— Learning Torah (torah lishma) connects us to all of them. Pure/Basic/Theoretical Judaism leads us to Applied Judaism. Applied Judaism is nourished by Pure/Basic/Theoretical Judaism.
Where can we fit in Tikkun Olam? Everywhere.
Originally published in Temple Emanu-El of Edison’s February 2015 edition of Kolaynu.
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