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Jewish World Review
Jan. 31, 2005
/ 21 Shevat, 5765
What Bush understands
about ‘tikkun olam’
By
Lloyd M. Green
Few noticed that key portion of President's second inaugural address borrowed from Jewish liturgy, philosophy
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
President George W. Bush's second Inaugural Address was certainly ecumenical. As he honored Christianity, Judaism and Islam, he recalled the "truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people." But the 43rd President went far beyond that.
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President delivering inagural address |
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The speech used the language of the traditional Jewish liturgy to outline a breathtaking vision for the future of the world. The President and his speech writer, Michael Gerson, appear to have infused the text and tone of the speech with language from the High Holiday liturgy, and the message of the Aleinu — the concluding daily prayer of traditional Jewish worship that is also given a central role during the High Holiday service. How do I know that? Because, as a product of a Jewish Day School, the Yeshivah of Flatbush, who is still observant, I have been saying almost-identical words all my life.
In his speech, Bush contended that the "great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations." In the High Holiday prayers, the congregation explicitly and literally prays for the vanquishing of evil and the "passing of the rule of tyranny", which is then immediately followed by praying for the exclusive rule of G-d over all of His creation from Mount Zion.
And so when Bush declared that America's policies were aimed at the "ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world", I kept thinking about how that would sound in Hebrew — I could hear my ears ring with the text of the High Holiday liturgy — "ta'avir memsheles zadon min ha'aretz".
This same religious ideal also finds voice in the second stanza of the Aleinu prayer, which begins "Al ken nekaveh" (literally, "therefore we put our hope in You"). At the core of the Al ken nekaveh is tikkun olam, the "perfection of the world through the Almighty's sovereignty." In other words, tikkun olam is not about "Kumbayah," holding hands, taking a village, or even leaving no child behind.
Rather, liturgically and traditionally tikkun olam is about all of humanity calling G-d's name, and literally and metaphorically eradicating idolatry and G-d's willing "every knee to bend" before Him and "every tongue swearing" allegiance to Him.
Thus, without ever using the actual words "tikkun olam", George W. Bush, the Methodist scion of Greenwich and Midland, demonstrated a better grasp of the original intent and meaning of tikkun olam than either Michael Lerner or Bill Clinton. And that is what made the Bush Second Inaugural memorable, and worthy of both attention and pause. Namely, tikkun olam is about making G-d's dominion felt in both its majesty and force in the here and now on Earth.
For Jews, that is heady stuff. Unfortunately as our tragic history shows, it rarely works out that way. But Bush, President of the United States, commander-in-chief of an armed force many times mightier than Joshua's, Saul's and David's combined, is a different story. If Bush decides to bring the blessings of heaven to earth, if in fact, "America's vital interests and deepest beliefs are now one," he needs to be taken seriously. Although of course, that doesn't mean he will necessarily prevail, as my mighty Jewish ancestors discovered in their time.
For America, the Speech marks the political fusion of the Evangelical and the Orthodox.
Regardless, the President's expressions are definitely religious orthodoxies, and many may find them to be noble sentiments. But is the pursuit of the eradication of tyranny, as opposed to the pursuit of happiness, a viable policy and goal for government?
History suggests that, no matter how well intentioned, mankind has a bad record when it comes to establishing G-d's Kingdom on this earth, or in pursuing a Utopian ideal. It is not simply that men fail. Rather, more often than not failure is accompanied by carnage and ruin, and an actual result that may bear no relation to the initial or stated ideal.
Our time has witnessed the savagery of Utopianism — Stalin's Russia, Hitler's Germany, Mao's China, Khomeini's Iran, and the Taliban's Afghanistan. Which leads me to believe that Utopianism as a policy can have horrible consequences. Indeed, the Aleinu prayer, which is traditionally ascribed as dating back to Joshua's conquest of Jericho, became the final prayer of choice for medieval martyrs. Over time, a prayer in the time of victory became the prayer for the bowed, if not for the vanquished.
After hearing the President's speech and looking back at history, I wonder if we might be better off with an Inaugural Address that simply reminded Americans to "fight for your right to party", offered another tax cut and left liturgy to the prayer book. Discerning G-d's will in the here and now is too difficult, and Utopias are not built to last. Camelot was the stuff of myth and music. Nothing else.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and in Washington consider must-reading.
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JWR contributor Lloyd M. Green served in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Comment by clicking here.
© 2005, Lloyd M. Green
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