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n. "Repairing (the) world," making the world a better place through volunteering, social justice work, and philanthropy.
n. Kabbalistic concept of mystically repairing the fabric of the world through the performance of mitzvot.
"Helping the needy is an act of tikkun olam."
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תיקון עולם
tikun olam
The modern meaning came into usage among progressive American Jews in the 1970s and became widespread in the 1990s. See history of the word in rabbinic texts in an article by Jonathan Krasner, an article by Jill Jacobs, and Jill Jacobs' book There Shall Be No Needy.
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