tikkun olam

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew תִּקּוּן עוֹלָם (tikún olám, literally “repairing the world”). The Hebrew phrase has been used to refer to a variety of things through Jewish history, including the elimination of idolatry.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tiˈkuːn ʌˈlɑːm/

Noun

tikkun olam (uncountable)

  1. The value, prominent in Liberal Judaism, of helping and bettering society as a whole.
    • 1989, Jacob Neusner, Ernest S. Frerichs, Nahum M. Sarna, From Ancient Israel to Modern Judaism […] , Scholars Press, →ISBN, page 51:
      A middle-aged Jewish male searching for female companionship can place a personal ad in an Indianapolis magazine and identify himself as searching for a woman “committed to tikkun olam”.
    • 2012 August 29, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Noam Neusner, “Mitt Romney, the Tikkun Olam President?”, in The Atlantic‎[1]:
      Maybe the best form of tikkun olam is to give people freedom and free markets as opposed to more state-sponsored goodies. Freedom and free markets have worked pretty well in lifting people out of poverty, creating strong middle-class societies, and supporting great voluntary and charitable institutions.
    • 2013 March 21, Barack Obama, “Remarks of President Barack Obama To the People of Israel”, in The White House Office of the Press Secretary‎[2]:
      And as a man who’s been inspired in my own life by that timeless calling within the Jewish experience—tikkun olam—[applause]—I am hopeful that we can draw upon what’s best in ourselves to meet the challenges that will come; to win the battles for peace in the wake of so much war; and to do the work of repairing this world.

Further reading

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