Tikkun Olam

It has been a season of grandchildren, beginning in late August and ending just last week. As part of that family time, I watched movies I might not otherwise have seen, with themes that stretch far beyond the ken of little ones.

In A Wrinkle In Time, Mrs. Which warns of a darkness that “invades the place inside of us where hope and joy live, and replaces it with jealousy and judgment, pain and despair…until fear takes over, and fear turns to rage, and rage leads to violence.”

That darkness is laid out before us now, clearly apparent in the baser human impulses it fuels. Things seem rather bleak, and even the most optimistic among us can feel helpless at times. Perhaps even hopeless. 

Enter Mr. Rogers, with his gentle and reassuring presence. The film about his work, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? includes a Public Service Announcement  filmed after the World Trade Center attacks of 2001. In that clip, Rogers looks straight into the camera, eyes direct, open and loving as always, and tells us that, in the face of such horror, “we all are called to be Tikkun Olam, repairers of creation.” 

Repairers of creation…what a phrase! While some might find it arrogant to think that creation needs our help in any way, the ancient Jewish practice of Tikkun Olam urges us to do what we can. And we can do much. At the very least, we can be repairers of our own creation. 

We create minute by minute…by the thoughts we nurture, the actions we take, the values we enact within the context of our individual lives. We get to choose what we sow and what we nourish. Although, as Mrs. Which tells us, it’s challenging to “stay focused on light when darkness is present,” help is available. We are not in this alone.

Rogers shares that when, as a child, “I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Those helpers can help us as well. They remind us that we, too, have a choice: to give ourselves to the darkness of fear and negativity, or to be helpers ourselves, doing what we can, whatever the context.

Attuning to the force of good and bringing it into the world is at the heart of all spiritual traditions. We know this. We also know that standing in the light feels so very much better than offering ourselves to darkness. And as each person who stands in light bolsters the resolve of others to do the same, who knows what might be possible?

This post ends, as did that PSA from 2001, with these sweet words from Mr. Rogers. “Thank you for whatever you do, wherever you are, to bring joy and light and hope and faith and pardon and love to your neighbor and to yourself.”

Yes, thank you, neighbors of mine!

Leia

While I couldn't find an online video of Fred Rogers speaking about Tikkun Olam, here's the Netfliks DVD link to Won't You Be My Neighbor? where you CAN find it (alas, it wasn't available on streaming last I looked).

And I did find these two other short and very sweet clips...Helpers and Lifelong Friends.