We bring Torah into the world when we strive to fulfill the highest ethical mandates in our relationships with others and with all of God’s creation. Partners with God in tikkun olam, repairing the world, we are called to help bring nearer the messianic age. We seek dialogue and joint action with people of other faiths in the hope that together we can bring peace, freedom and justice to our world. We are obligated to pursue tzedek, justice and righteousness, and to narrow the gap between the affluent and the poor, to act against discrimination and oppression, to pursue peace, to welcome the stranger, to protect the earth’s biodiversity and natural resources, and to redeem those in physical, economic and spiritual bondage. In so doing, we reaffirm social action and social justice as a central prophetic focus of traditional Reform Jewish belief and practice. We affirm the mitzvah of tzedakah, setting aside portions of our earnings and our time to provide for those in need. These acts bring us closer to fulfilling the prophetic call to translate the words of Torah into the works of our hands.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. How does Tikkun Olam function as a guiding principle for Reform Judaism?
2. According to this text, what is the role of embracing diversity in pursuing justice?
3. What does it mean to "reaffirm social action and social justice as a central prophetic focus?"
4. Are there any social justice issues that you would add to this guiding principle?
1. How does Tikkun Olam function as a guiding principle for Reform Judaism?
2. According to this text, what is the role of embracing diversity in pursuing justice?
3. What does it mean to "reaffirm social action and social justice as a central prophetic focus?"
4. Are there any social justice issues that you would add to this guiding principle?
Time Period: Contemporary (The Yom Kippur War until the present-day)