Tikkun Olam

I love my annual tradition of the Yom Kippur fast because it affords me the chance to slow down and have a day of reflection. We regularly feed our physical, intellectual, and emotional bodies by eating, reading, and socializing, so why not feed our spiritual bodies by fasting and taking time to reflect?

At a time when the State of Israel is fighting for its survival on seven fronts, it is important to ask what it means to be a Jew and how could this tiny minority of the global population survive longer than any other nation, culture, or empire. How can Jews, despite all the pogroms and anti-Semitism directed against them, not only survive but bench press above their weight when it comes to education, wealth, and power?

Israel (IS.RA.EL) is the derivative of the Hebrew word Yisra'el, which literally means he who struggles with god. Jews constantly struggle with the concept of god, right and wrong, good and evil. Unlike other people who covet territory, wealth, and natural resources, all the Jews got was a book, hence the joke, “Put two Jews in a room, and you will get three opinions.”

The Old Testament is a book of laws meant to help guide the Jews from slavery to freedom, and it demands that they expand their focus beyond their well-being to Tikkun Olam, the repair of the world. The 19th-century Protestants called this idea Social Gospel, and today, we call it Social Justice.

Since our societal norms are not too far from the laws of the jungle, the brutality and injustice we experience can lead to a crushing load of sadness and depression unless we choose to take action.

President Theodore Roosevelt advised us to be the man in the arena. Steve Jobs strived to make a small dent in the universe. John Lewis and William Mellor are two contemporary heroes who did their best to repair the world. Our way of repairing the world is to build an institute for the advancement of humanity, and if you are reading this, you are already a part of this effort.

— Sina.