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Social Justice

There is a growing debate within Jewish circles about the term “Tikkun Olam” – meaning to fix or change the world. For some Jews, this is our nation’s mission: to stand with the oppressed and bring societal change and redemption to the entire world. Others, however, have criticized this approach, saying that Tikkun Olam as the center of Judaism is a distortion of a religious movement into a political one. For all of us, considering this question is an invitation to think more seriously about our obligation to this world.

Social Justice: Our Central Questions

1. Jewish Values and Social Justice: Is there a theological imperative in Judaism to be involved in social justice? 

2. Social Justice and the Orthodox community: Why does the Orthodox community seem to be so much less actively engaged in social justice work than other parts of the Jewish community?

3. Particularity and Universalism: Does belief in Jewish chosenness allow for broad social activism?

EPISODES

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Rabbi Jeremy Wieder – rosh yeshiva, PhD, Bible professor, and passionate Orthodox moral voice – to discuss what the Torah has to say about social justice.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Rivka Press Schwartz – Shalom Hartman Institute Fellow, SAR Associate Principal, and Princeton PhD – to think about ways in which social justice can be incorporated into Orthodox education systems.
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down with Eli Rubin – writer and researcher at chabad.org – to think about the stereotypes associated with social justice and vision, and how those seeming boundaries have been transcended.

ARTICLES

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