Central Conference of American Rabbis
Third: Redeemed from Egypt, We Seek to Help Repair the
World
Central to the mission of
Reform Judaism from its inception has been a commitment to
answer the prophetic call for justice and the challenge of
tikun olam, attempting to repair our shattered world.
Reform Jews strive to be faithful to the Torah's teaching
that the call to justice is not separate from the call to
holiness, but flows from and so out of our learning and our
prayers, in the private and public corners of our lives, we
pledge to work for the cause of the poor and oppressed, and
for the protection of the earth and all the creatures God
entrusted to our care. We renew our commitment to
tzedakah, to setting aside a portion of our resources
to justly provide for those in need, and to engage in
regular acts of gemilut chasadim, showing by our
caring presence our love for those in pain. Mindful of our
own redemption from Egypt, we commit ourselves to help
redeem those in physical, economic and spiritual bondage in
our own time, that we all might live, at long last, in a
world repaired, a world at peace.
Bluethread responds: With a little grammatical tweaking,
this would be a fine restatement of the classical Reform
approach to being in the world. However, this principle
contain an illustration of the kind of regression we
mentioned in our opening statement on the Ten Principles.
Tzedakah means "justice," not "charity." It came to only
mean charity when it was redefined and limited by the Rabbis
over the millenia. Its original meaning incorporates acts of
what we would today call charity, but in a richer and more
particularly Jewish way. Giving to a widow with children,
for example, under Jewish law, is an act of justice. She is
owed the support of the community and should not be
dependent on the whim of the moment. On the other hand,
giving alms to able-bodied and able-minded persons is not
justice. Helping them to become self-supporting is. In
committing to the principle of tzdekah, it is important not
simply to revert to traditional cliches, but to reexamine
our traditions in a Reform context.
Tzedakah, however defined, and gemilut chasadim should not be the only ways of approaching tikun olam. For example, the work done in creating these principles comes out of the spirit of tikun olam, yet it is neither tzedakah nor gemilut chasadim.
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2/28/99
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