TIKKUN OLAM through Community-Based Organizing

 

Tikkun Olam is an ancient Jewish concept that implies that human society is profoundly broken and imperfect, but that we have the ability to repair it.  Over the centuries, the term Tikkun Olam has had many different interpretations, but Rabbi Arthur Green, my colleague at Hebrew College in Newton and Brandeis University, writes that we use this ancient term today to refer to our responsibility to work for “the relief of human suffering, the achievement of peace and mutual respect among peoples, and the protection of the planet itself from destruction” (These Are The Words, p. 175). 

All that is a tall order for one person alone to accomplish.  Because Jews live in community, and because the task of Tikkun Olam is too great – and overwhelming! – for one person to work on alone, we have to join together with others to repair the world. 

That is where an impressive initiative, called community-based organizing, comes in.   The community-organizing model has at its core a belief that there is power in the relationships and connections between people.  By building relationships, by discussing, listening, and understanding the concerns of fellow community members, we draw inspiration from each other to work toward repairing our world. 

A number of Jewish and non-Jewish congregations in Boston have experienced tremendous success in generating energy for Tikkun Olam work – both broadly and narrowly defined – through community-based organizing, and now we at Temple Sinai will explore the potential in this kind of organizing.  Here’s how it will work:

First, volunteers from Temple Sinai will be trained as small group discussion facilitators.  Then we will organize a number of small group meetings at the homes of members, and gather for a meal and group discussion.  The facilitators, the trained members of the congregation, will lead these conversations. The discussions will allow members to get know each other and to learn about each other’s values, priorities, concerns and interests.  We envision about 5-10 such house meetings.  This will also be an opportunity to schmooze, eat good food and get to know fellow community members.

During the house meetings, the facilitators will pay special attention to issues or themes mentioned that relate in some way to Tikkun Olam work, broadly defined.  After summarizing the themes from these gatherings, they will review and share them with the larger congregation. We will use this as a basis for engaging the entire Temple Sinai community in a discussion of what matters to us.  To give one example, the success in crafting a universal health care insurance bill in Massachusetts resulted largely from this kind of grass-roots organizing work when people joined together.

How can you join this effort?  One next step is the training of facilitators from Temple Sinai.  About eight Temple Sinai members have already experienced a preliminary introduction to this process in November 2006.  In February, you will have another opportunity to be trained to lead the group discussions, be supportive of the project, gain an under-standing of the overall process, and meet trainees from other Brookline synagogues.  These sessions are scheduled for February 7, 15 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Kehillath Israel (“KI”) in Brookline, one of the congregations also exploring this project.  Or, if you’d like to join as a participant, perhaps you’ll agree to host a house meeting later this year or join the conversation, to hear the concerns of other Temple Sinai members, and add your own dreams about our Tikkun Olam work.  Please contact me if you want to join us.

Yes, the world is profoundly broken, but there is hope.  We can join together with others to support one another, share our dreams, and build up our power to shape the world.  To quote Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav (1772-1810):  “If you believe that humans have the ability to mess up the world, believe, too, that we have the power to repair it!”

- Rabbi Andy Vogel