A Talmudic Prescription for Collective Safety and Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World)

TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 2 Jun 2025

Diane Perlman | Political Therapy - TRANSCEND Media Service

28 May 2025 – In the face of Israel’s infliction of unimaginable suffering and genocide upon Palestinians, I have been pondering a Talmudic text as I struggle daily with the daunting challenge of my responsibilities as a Jew and as a clinical and political psychologist.

Since I am hyperconscious of the sensitivities, conflicting perspectives and hostility among Jews across religious and political spectra, I strive to find openings for respectful dialogue. I thought this Talmudic teaching might be a way to provide insight, religious legitimacy and urgency for challenging the violent actions of the Israeli government (including its collusion with the US government.)

This quote is from a text by four third century Talmudic sages – Rabbis Rav, Chanina, Yochanan, and Chaviva:

“Whoever is able to protest against the actions of their family and does not do so, is held responsible for, is punishable for the actions of their family. Whoever is able to protest against the actions of the people of their town and does not do so is held responsible for the actions of their town. Whoever is able to protest against the actions of the whole world and does not do so is held responsible for the actions of the whole world.” Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 54b

I am not a Talmudic scholar. I do not study Talmud but occasionally use quotes that reveal profound psychological truths and wisdom related to real world consequences. It exemplifies Tikkun Olam, a central Jewish principle calling us to repair the world.

Since some elements of common English translations did not feel right to me, I was curious about what the ancient sages actually meant. I will dig deeper into these points that felt problematic.

· The implication that protest itself would be protective. Did the sages mean going to marches and holding signs? Writing Substacks? Is that what these wise rabbis believed would prevent us from being punished?

· The idea of being punished for the actions of one’s group did not feel exactly right.

Jews and others have protested the Israeli military occupation of Palestinians for decades.

Here I am in 1990 standing on a corner in Jerusalem on a Friday afternoon with Women in Black. They organized weekly vigils before Shabbat in major cities in Israel to protest a the occupation, holding up signs in various languages with the common slogan “Enough of the Occupation!” or “End the Occupation!” The word for “occupation” in Hebrew כיבוש also means “conquest.”

These protests didn’t stop people from being punished. In fact, many taken hostage or killed on October 7 were peace activists who worked against the occupation. Vivian Silver, 74, who was killed on October 7, was a peace leader who even drove sick Palestinians from Gaza to Israeli hospitals.

Since October, 2023, continuous protests all over the world for a ceasefire and hostage deal have not saved one Palestinian life. Nor have they protected members of the perpetrators’ people from punishment.

On October 27, 2023, Jewish protesters filled the New York City’s Grand Central Station to demand an immediate Gaza cease-fire. 200 were arrested.(Photo: Jewish Voice for Peace/X)

2003 Gulf War Protests

In 2003, 15 million people protesting around the world did not prevent the US led invasion of Iraq which killed, traumatized and displaced millions, triggering cataclysmic global consequences which reverberate to this day. The world said “No to war” but the US Military Industrial Complex, or what former CIA analyst Ray McGovern calls the Military Industrial Congressional Intelligence Media Academia Think Tank Complex (MICIMATT), said “Yes.”

Found in Translation – a Psychologically Sound Prescription for Collective Safety

Assuming that Talmudic wisdom is reached through the intense deliberations of scholars, I decided to look up the original Hebrew to grasp their intended meaning. The nuanced meanings embedded in the precise language blew my mind.

Here is the Hebrew.

כל מי שאפשר למחות לאנשי ביתו ולא מיחה – נתפס על אנשי ביתו, באנשי עירו – נתפס על אנשיעירו, בכל העולם כולו – נתפס על כל העולם כולו.

Here is my attempt at precise translation, including variations of definitions. I put changed translations in italics. I welcome your ideas and insights in the comments.

Like the treatment of a chorus when printing song lyrics, the ”Everyone” opening phrase of the first sentence is not repeated in the second and third paragraphs in the original. They are included here for clarity.

“Everyone who has the possibility to oppose and work against (the actions) of the people in his household and does not eliminate them, is implicated in, is participating in, is complicit in, is perceived as being responsible for and is subject to consequences provoked by the actions of the people in his household.

(Everyone who has the possibility to oppose and work against (the actions) of the people in his) city, and does noteliminate them, is implicated in, is participating in, is complicit in, is perceived as being responsible for and is subject to consequences provoked by the actions the people in his city.

(Everyone who has the possibility to oppose and work against (the actions) of the world in its entirety, and does not eliminate them, is implicated in, is participating in, is complicit in, is perceived as being responsible, and is subject to consequences provoked by the actions of the entire world.

TO CONTINUE READING Go to Original – coronawise.substack.com

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