Where do you expect to find holiness? In the synagogue or in the workplace?
On the one hand, one would expect to find spirituality in a spiritual place. After all, that is where you can shut off the outside world and concentrate on G-d and “holy thoughts.” However, if you think about it, is that what Judaism is all about, being secluded in a sanctuary? Or is Judaism about tikkun olam, about perfecting the world?
Tikkun olam is not about planting trees! That is a misinterpretation of the words. Tikkun olam means bringing G-d into our day-to-day living. It means that G-dliness should penetrate everything that we do, including while we plant a tree, while we sit at a desk working, or while we shop at the store.
Imagine every time someone asks you how you are doing, you answer, “Thank G-d!” By doing so, you are bringing G-dliness into this world. It is such an easy act to do, and this is how we bring the “sanctuary” into our lives, whenever and wherever we are.
We learn this lesson from this week’s Torah portion when Leah names her child Zevulon. Zevulon is Leah’s sixth son, which makes her the mother of the progenitors of half of the tribes. With this son’s birth, she feels she has anchored her husband, Jacob, who is considered a “man of the tent” (for sake of our conversation, we will call him the man who stays in the sanctuary) into her home. However, Zevulon grows up to be a very successful businessman, with fleets of ships, a man of commerce. How does Zevulon, the exact opposite of Jacob, anchor him?
That is exactly Leah’s point.
Leah is here to teach us that Judaism is not meant to stay only in the synagogue. It is meant to sail across the ocean, into our day-to-day lives! The more we can ride the waves of life, the more the Torah can penetrate our day-to-day living in the “real” world, and the more meaningful Judaism becomes to us.
This is the deeper meaning of tikkun olam. We repair this world by anchoring the Torah into our daily lives.