The assimilation of Tikkun Olam

The Hebrew root (ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) (t-k-n) appears in Ecclesiastes where it is used in the sense of straightening, repairing or fashioning.1 Many of its later uses, however, depart from those original connotations. [...]in rabbinic literature the root has a range of meanings such as fixing a variety of items, preparing for a significant event, legislating, composing liturgy, emending biblical texts, determining calendric calculations, propagating the species, and pursuing spiritual objectives.2 The Hebrew noun 'olam also carries more than a single implication: world, society, community, universe, spiritual sphere, forever, and eternity. Using tikkun olam as a watchword for any action that purports to improve society may lend a fictitious stamp of Jewish approval to policies and projects that run counter to values that are deeply rooted in Jewish sources. Because a particular goal reflects a liberal democratic worldview does not mean that it is necessarily aJewish value.