In mystical Judaism, this teaching is known as Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world. How do we do this? The answer is through every act of chesed (mercy) and tzedakah (generosity). It means observing the instructions in the Torah…. It means cultivating contemplative practices that foster intimacy with God, welcoming strangers, and striving to care for the earth. It means bending down to hear what our brothers and sisters on the margins need (and being prepared to let go of our notions of what “helping” looks like, because our preconceived notions of service can get in the way of authentic service). It means pressing our ears to the earth to hear Mother Earth’s heartbeat, learning to read her pulse, diagnose her illnesses, and intuit her healing. It means slowing down enough to fully accept the pain of the world into our hearts, freeing our minds, and acting from that freed space. It means moving forward with humility, curiosity, and love.(1)
Our mission is to repair a broken world. This is our job: to repair this shattered vessel, to repair the broken parts of the world. How do we do this? If you're anything like me, you might ask yourself every day: We do this through every act of mercy, every act of chesed. And we do this through every act of tzedakah. Tzedakah, for lack of a better translation, is generosity, hospitality. It's sometimes translated as charity. It's giving of yourself, even when it's not convenient or comfortable. The nice thing about Judaism, and it's the same in Islam, is that our loving, kind thoughts also matter. Of course, actions matter, but our loving thoughts make the difference. They help repair the world.
1) Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of Feminine Mystics (Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2019), pp. 138-139.
(2) Excerpted from Mirabai Starr, “Living Schools Symposium” (Albuquerque, NM: Action and Contemplation Center, 2022). Unpublished transcript.
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