Tikkun Olam:  Repair the World and Keep it Holy (Whole)

When it comes to the Jewish concept of “tikkun olam” translated as “repairing the world”, traditional Judaism and Kabbalah differ only in how much emphasis is placed on the inner versus the outer, the oral teachings versus the written, and the hidden versus the revealed. In Kabbalah an effort is made towards using potent symbols, metaphors and meaning to explain the esoteric and manifest holiness (wholeness) including how to cultivate it in our daily living. It is the Gestalt therapy of mystical traditions. To repair and keep “it” holy means to usher in an ever-present divine unity into the world by learning to contribute a strong (and persistent) sense of personal joy-beauty-awe-meaning-purpose-authenticity and universal truth that helps others while also benefiting self, the world at large and all the living beings in it. How that is done is by gathering and manifesting the divine sparks of Holiness-Godliness. These divine sparks or emanations are both integral and interdependent aspects of God, what some might call fundamental expressions of a ultimately unknowable deity through a divinely inspired and enlightened mind, both on a spiritual and material level. It sounds like a rather complex mystical discipline but little kids seem to do it naturally and without over-thinking it. In the end it is all about love.