Tikkun
Tikkun is a Jewish/Kabbalistic term syncretic with the Alignment and Perfection.
Syncretic Terms
Perfection > Al-Insan al-Kamil, Arhat, Cosmic Man, Final Fulfilment, Moksha, Nirvana, Perfect Contemplation, Perfected One, Plateau Experience, Redemption, Ritambharapragya, Siddhi, The Unity, Tikkun, Triumph of Spirit, Triumph of Spirit Archetypes, Triumph of Spirit Narrative
Related Terms
Kabbalah > Age of Redemption, Ain Soph, Ain Soph Aur, Breaking of the Vessels, Descent to the Chariot, Messiah, Mitzvah, Nejuda Reshima, Sefirot, Shekhinah, The Correction, The Withdrawal, Tikkun, Treatise on the Emanations on the Left
Notes
Tikkun is a central/original concept in Lurian Kabbalah, a form of Kabbalah that remains dominant.[1]
In Jewish literature Tikkun may refer to a process of alignment that leads to perfection, and it may also refer to the actual attainment of perfection, in a personal, collective, an eschatological sense.[2]
"The tikkun is the purpose of creation, of human existence, of the Torah, and of the people of Israel. The achievement of the tikkun is the ultimate redemption, bringing perfection first and foremost to God himself, and as a result— to the universe, to humanity, and to the people of Israel. The instruments of achieving this are dedication and absorption in the observance of the mitzvot, complete commitment to the norms of ethical behavior, and unselfish pursuit of religious perfection for every person, for every community, and for the people as a whole. It can be described as a nationalistic ideology, setting an all-encompassing collective goal in which everyone should participate to the full extent of his abilities. The arsenal, the means by which this endeavor can be carried out, is the Torah, the halakhah, and the totality of Jewish tradition."[3]
"The process of tikkun is therefore one of separation: uplifting sparks separates the good from evil, thus causing the abolishment of evil. Sparks are released when a person performs a commandment, says a prayer, eats a kosher meal, observes the Sabbath, or performs an act of charity and justice. On the other hand, every transgression and sin, any ethical misdeed, causes a spark from the person’s divine soul to fall captive to the powers of evil, thus strengthening them. Redemption will occur when all the sparks have been uplifted and separated from evil, which means, actually, when all the people observe the commandments and ethical norms and refrain from any transgression and injustice. A person can never know whether the spark he is uplifting at this moment is the last one, bringing about the redemption, or whether the transgression he has just committed has prevented the completion of the tikkun and thus delayed the redemption. Every moment, every deed, can be the crucial, final one, deciding the fate of the universe. Collective responsibility is paramount: what is at stake is not the fate of an individual soul, but that of the state of all creation."[4]
Footnotes
- ↑ Dan, Joseph. Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006..
- ↑ Dan, Joseph. Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
- ↑ Dan, Joseph. Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. (Kindle Locations 1126-1132).
- ↑ Dan, Joseph. Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. (Kindle Locations 1146-1155).
