For many in the American Jewish community, tikkun olam (literally meaning "repairing the world") has become synonymous with social action. Ask a majority of Jews the most important facet of their Jewish identity, and you'll find that is embodied in the modern-day concept of tikkun olam. Wanting to repair the world certainly has a loftiness to it.
Why should I want to criticize people who make the world a better place?
My first issue is with the history of the concept. Jews tend to think that tikkun olam as we know it is a centuries-old tradition that we are just continuing in the modern age. That is actually false. When first mentioned in the Mishnah, it was in the context of halachic regulation, usually with property rights or other legal disputes. The next time it appears is in the Aleinu prayer, but in the sense that G-d, not man, will ultimately fix the world. The third time it shows up in a Jewish context is in Lurianic Kabbalah. However, the mystical concept of repairing the shattering of the ten sefirot by diligently performing mitzvot. In short, the tikkun olam that we know is a movement largely manifesting itself from the Civil Rights movement and the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War.
Jews have not only adapted to surrounding cultures, but have created innovations as a result. I would attribute this feature as one of the major factors in Jewish survival. Therefore, innovation should not be a reason to negate tikkun olam. However, when you dress up "progressive" "social" "justice" in the guise of it being the ultimate expression of Judaism, I have a problem with it. And if you're wondering the need for all those quotation marks in the previous sentence, it would have to do something with the misnomer about progressivism actually being progressive. There is nothing progressive about stymieing economic growth and perpetuating poverty.
This "social" "justice" is not exactly as Jewish as one would think. The issue is that the tikkun olam makes the fallacious assumption that "progressivism" is Judaism, when in fact it is not. Judaism has an appreciation for free markets and property rights. Judaism condones owning firearms in the name of self-defense. Although I recognize that Judaism does have a sense of communal responsibility, the way that many Jews present tikkun olam is that it is either the "progressive" way or the highway.
When Leftist Jews chide conservative Christians for mixing religion with politics, they really should look in the mirror and realize how much they are calling the kettle black.
In spite of the politicization of tikkun olam, my main issue with the tikkun olam movement is they have bitten off more they can chew, and in the process, have left Yiddishkeit in disarray. The thought behind the inception of the tikkun olam movement that this would be the form of Judaism that would transcend the particularism and tribalism of Judaism. "Who needs rituals like kashrut or Shabbos," they thought. To quote the Beatles, "All you need is love."
Needless to say, tikkun olam backfired in terms of making Jews more Jewish. Approximately 90% of American Jews do not consider themselves Orthodox. Most don't keep kosher or Shabbat on any level (some would be better than none!). You're lucky if many Jews attend High Holiday services, let alone Shabbos services. Not only that, you think the tikkun olam would make for more "Jewish volunteerism." Wrong! Looking at a recent study done by Brandeis University, most Jews do not care if they volunteer for a Jewish organization or not, and you can tell from the results of the study that Judaism is not real high on the priority list.
There is a lot to worry about in terms of Jewish survival. It's not just the birth rate being below replacement [outside of the Orthodox world] that worries me. The creation of Birthright also worries me. The reason Birthright exists in the first place is because so many Jews my age have such a disconnect with Judaism.
Before you try to fix problems in communities far away, you should first make sure that your own house is in order. Judaism faces a serious PR issue, which is why so many Jews cling to tikkun olam. Many see Judaism as insipid, antiquated, and irrelevant, none of which are true. Rabbis aren't inspiring congregants like they used to, congregants aren't putting enough subtle pressure on fellow congregants to partake in a more Jewish life, parents aren't instilling Judaism into their children, and Jewish institutions aren't exactly helping with this decay of Jewish life. Trust me, there's plenty of blame to go around.
That is why I make a call for Jews to come back to keeping kosher, learning Hebrew, studying Torah, or observing Shabbos. We should certainly keep up the dialogue as to what is considered "good observance." Even if you do it on your own terms, something is better than nothing. In essence, we not only need to be human beings, but need to also be Jews in the same process.
Finally, this is not a call to abandon Jewish values such as justice or loving-kindness. I'm not even going to do something like tell you to stop do such acts of loving-kindness as giving tzedakah or showing hospitality because these are also practices deeply rooted in Judaism. I'm asking that Jews don't take on so much that they spiritually feel burnt out. I'm asking that Jews think globally and act locally.
I'd like to close with an anecdote about the Chofetz Chaim. It was said that he wanted to try to help the entire world, but realized he couldn't. He wanted to help out all of the people Israel and realized he couldn't. He wanted to even help out his own community and realized that he couldn't. Even with his own family, he came to the same realization. However, he started by helping himself, and from there he made a huge impact on Jewry and Judaism. If we repair the world in smaller, more manageable, more tangible doses than the tikkun olam movement does, then we will one day see the world truly repaired.
There is so much truth in the last two paragraphs. We need to realize that we cannot "save the world", nor should we want to. But we can save ourselves, and then our communities, and perhaps then, save mankind in the process.
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