Tikun Israel precedes Tikun Olam
A New-Old Approach
At this very moment Am Yisrael finds itself at an intersection of existential proportions. October 7th, 2023 isn’t just any day, it is the day. It is the day when the People of Israel, Global Jewry, came to question their existence, again.
How did we get here?
Years of political instability and social tensions has led to the fracturing of Israeli society that was compounded following the morning of October 7, 2023. On this day the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas launched a massive invasion on Israeli civilians and military outposts abutting the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip. This included a massive launch of over 5,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, a breach of the Israel-Gaza border, the massacre of over 1200 innocent Israelis and visitors, and kidnapping of 251 women, children, babies, elderly, and men. The next day, October 8th 2023, Jewish communities across N. America, Europe and elsewhere began to experience forms of Jew-hatred and anti-Semitic attacks not experienced since the 1920-1930’s in Europe.
What preceded the invasion of Hamas in Southern Israel, its barbaric attack on our people, and the ensuing war, was internal turmoil in Israel. Instability informed by political machinations, infighting and government miscalculations, impacted Israel’s social fabric, a social fabric that is Israel’s national security. The sad part is, we’ve learned about internal fighting, baseless hatred, in the past and we know the results brought about the destruction of both instances of Jewish sovereignty in the land during the first and second temple periods (586 BCE & 70 CE, respectively).
Where are we now?
We are currently on our third attempt at Jewish sovereignty and we must learn from the past. If there is anything Oct. 7th taught us is that never again could happen again.
It is time for a new-old approach: Tikun Israel puts us back on track.
Tikun Israel happened in the story of Exodus when Moses led Am Yisrael following 400 years of slavery to freedom. It happened during the times of the Israelite prophets and kings, it happened thousands of years later in 1897 with Herzl’s answer to the Jewish question through Zionism. It happened in 1948 with the reestablishment of the modern nation State of Israel following 2,000 years of exile, and it is happening right now – at this very moment.
For many Jewish identity, values and expression, through Tikun Olam, was consumed with being about the other, some may argue that this approach resulted in a loss of commitment to one’s Jewish self, to knowing yourself.
That is changing.
What’s next?
Today we are beginning to witness a return to Jewish particularism. Following the October 7th massacre and the ensuing rise in Jew hatred, a Jewish awakening of internal concerns is reemerging. Many young Jews on college campuses are seeking their Jewish home on campus, many are considering what their future might hold in their host countries, and many are thinking about Aliyah, living as a free Jew in Israel.
Rabbi Chaim of Sanz taught: “I was a young man and my heart burned with the love of Gd. So I thought that I would correct all the people in the world and return them to the beneficiary, that they should serve God. When I saw that I could not do this, I thought – at least I will correct my townspeople. After bothering with this and seeing that this is also impossible, I thought – at least I will correct the members of my household, who will be true worshipers of Hashem. I sat down and looked at the matter and said – at least I will bother to correct myself, that I will worship Gd.” The lesson Rabbi Chaim taught reflects on the need to work on ourselves, translated to today’s need: before we can help others we must heal ourselves.
It’s time we healed ourselves, this is the great tikun of our time, the global People of Israel’s modern-day revelation: Tikun Yisrael precedes Tikun Olam, healing Israel precedes healing the world. After all, how can we heal anyone if we ourselves are broken?
Israel’s existence, strength and inspiration informs our collective Jewish existence, strength, and inspiration.
I hope this wave of collective awakening leap frogs us into a movement of teaching, and role modeling selfless love. If Israel’s weakness in past destructions came about because of sinat chinnam, baseless ego driven hatred, then Israel’s strength and unity comes in the form of ahavat chinnam. Selfless driven acts of love, kindness and arevut, accountability for one another.
This is the calling of our time.
Rabbi Leor Sinai is a Global Speaker, Education Diplomacy Thought-Leader and Educator, and long-time campaign executive. He is a Legacy Heritage Foundation Fellow and Doctoral Candidate in the field of Education Leadership. Sinai serves on the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors as Chair of the Youth Aliyah & Absorption Committee, is a board member at Kol Israel—the General Zionist Movement and is on the board of Atchalta—a non-partisan think tank advancing social cohesion and national resilience in Israel. In addition to serving as an educator and global speaker, Sinai consults agencies advancing 21st Century Education, Leadership Development, and Organizational Advancement. Originally from New York, Sinai made Aliyah with his family in 2011.
