Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means, "repairing the world" or "perfecting the world." In Judaism, the concept of tikkun olam originated in the early rabbinic period. The concept was given new meanings in the kabbalah of the medieval period and further connotations in modern Judaism.^[1]

The expression tikkun olam is used in the Mishnah in the phrase mip'nei tikkun ha-olam ("for the sake of tikkun of the world") to indicate that a practice should be followed not because it is required by Biblical law, but because it helps avoid social chaos.^[2] One example is in Gittin 4:2.

At first a person used to convene a Court in another place and cancel it. Rabban Gamliel the Elder enacted in the public interest (mip'nei tikkun ha-olam) that they should not do so. At first a person used to change his name and her name, the name of his city and the name of her city, and Rabban Gamliel the Elder enacted in the public interest (mip'nei tikkun ha-olam) that he should write, "The man so-and-so and every name that he has," "The woman so-and-so and every name that she has."^[3]

The rabbis made this rule because they were concerned that a woman might receive a get (divorce document) and think she was divorced when in fact she was not. She might then remarry in good faith not knowing that she was not yet a free woman. In Jewish tradition there are severe consequences if a married woman engages in sexual relations outside of her marriage. She may not marry the man with whom she had sex and her children are ineligible to marry most other Jews because they acquire the technical status of mamzerim.^[4]

As an explanation of rabbinic laws, the phrase mip'nei tikkun ha-olam is also invoked for laws about the collection of the ketubah money for a widow (Gittin 4:3), the limit on payments to redeem captives (Gitten 4:6), purchasing religious articles from non-Jews (Gittin 4:6), divorce threatened by vows (Gittin 4:7), and the bringing of first fruits for land purchased from non-Jews (Gitten 4:9). Several additional uses are found in Gittin 5:3.^[1]

During Talmudic period, the principle of mip'nei tikkun ha-olam is applied to a very limited number of additional cases. (For example, see Pesahim 88b.) In both the Mishnah (Gittin 4:6) and the Talmud, applications of the principle are contested at times.^[1]

The phrase tikkun olam is included in the Aleinu, a Jewish prayer that is traditionally recited three times daily. The Aleinu praises God for allowing the Jewish people to serve God, and expresses hope that the whole world one day will recognize God and abandon idolatry. The phrase tikkun olam is used in the longer expression l'takken olam b'malkhut Shaddai, "to perfect the world under God's sovereignty." In other words, when all people of the world abandon false gods and recognize God, the world will have been perfected.^[1]

Some Jews believe that performing of ritual mitzvot is a means of tikkun olam, helping to perfect the world, and that the performance of more mitzvot will hasten the coming of the Messiah and the Messianic Age. This belief dates back at least to the early Talmudic period. According to Rabbi Yochanan, a rabbi who lived during that period, the Jewish people will be redeemed when every Jew observes Shabbat (the Sabbath) in two consecutive weeks.^[1]

According to the philosopher Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the physical world is connected to the spiritual worlds above and these spiritual worlds in turn influence the physical world. Accordingly, Jews have the ability through physical deeds and free will to direct and control spiritual forces. Included in the forces is tikkun. Hashem‟s desire in creation is that His creations will ultimately recognize Hashem‟s unity and overcome evil. This, according to Luzzatto, will constitute the perfection (tikkun) of creation. Jews have the Torah and are aware of Hashem‟s unity and when all of humanity recognizes this fact, the rectification will be complete.^[1]

In Jewish thought ethical mitzvot as well as ritual mitzvot are important to the process of tikkun olam. Some Jews believe that performing mitzvot will create a model society among the Jewish people, which will in turn influence the rest of the world. By perfecting themselves, their local Jewish community or the state of Israel, the Jews set an example for the rest of the world. The theme is frequently repeated in the sermons and writings of across the Jewish spectrum: Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox.^[1]

Some Jews believe that performing mitzvot will create a model society among the Jewish people. This society will in turn influence the remainder of the world. This idea is attributed to scripture that describes the Jews as “a kingdom of princes and a holy nation” (Shemot [Exodus] 19:6) as well as a “a light to nations” (Yeshayahu [Isaiah] 42:6, 49:6). The philosophy of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch is prominent in this field in terms of rational kehillot (communities) of Jews in the Diaspora influencing their non-Jewish neighbors. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook‟s philosophy is also influential in mystical terms as well as in Zionist terms of a Jewish state influencing the other nations of the world.^[1]

Modern Orthodox philosophy purports the idea that mitzvot have practical this-worldly sociological and educational affects upon those who perform them. By this reasoning, the mitzvot that are performed will perfect the Jews and the world at large.^[1]

“According to the rationalist philosophy of Hirsch and others, the social and ethical mitzvot have nearly self-explanatory purposes, while ritual mitzvot may serve functions such as education people or developing relationships between people and [Hashem]. As examples, prayer either inculcates a relationship between people and [Hashem] or strengthens beliefs and faith of the one who prays, and keeping kosher or wearing tzitzit serve as educational symbols of moral and religious values. This, the ultimate goal of mitzvot is for moral and religious values and deeds to permeate the Jewish people and ultimately the entire world, but the ritual mitzvot nevertheless play a vital role in this model of tikkun olam, strengthening what is accomplished by the ethical.”^[1]

By perfecting themselves, Jews also set an example for the rest of the world. Thus, the additional distinction that mitzvot have a practical, this-world effect. For example, charity benefits the poor, constituting tikkun olam by its improvement of the world.^[1]

For many Jews, the phrase tikkun olam means that Jews are not only responsible for creating a model Jewish society for themselves, they are also responsible for the welfare for the society at large. This responsibility may be understood in religious, social, or political terms and there are many differing opinions about how religion, society, and politics interplay.^[1]

Tikkun Olam „is a conception which can be used to justify the widest range of activities and views. We have also seen that it can easily be lifted out of its original context and transformed into a „normative‟ Jewish value. A contemporary idea is thus legitimated and rendered all the more significant by clothing it in the garb of tradition, a process as old as „tradition‟ itself.”^[5]