Tikkun Olam

(15) Rabbi Tarfon said: the day is short, and the work is plentiful, and the laborers are indolent, and the reward is great, and the master of the house is insistent.

(16) He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it; If you have studied much Torah, you shall be given much reward. Faithful is your employer to pay you the reward of your labor; And know that the grant of reward unto the righteous is in the age to come.

(17) Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure. Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai. And which is the controversy that is not for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his congregation.

(1) “See the work of God, for who can mend what He has warped?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)
“See the work of God, for who can mend what He has warped?” When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He took him and showed him all the trees in the Garden of Eden, and He said to him: ‘See My creations, how beautiful and exemplary they are. Everything I created, I created for you. Make certain that you do not ruin and destroy My world, as if you destroy it, there will be no one to mend it after you. Moreover, you will cause death to that righteous one.’ To what is the matter of [the death of] Moses our master analogous? [It is analogous] to a pregnant woman who was incarcerated in prison. She gave birth to a son, raised him, and she died there. Sometime later the king passed the entrance of the prison. As the king was passing, that son began screaming and he said: ‘My lord the king, I was born here, I grew up here; I do not know due to what sin am I placed here.’ [The king] said to him: ‘Due to your mother’s sin.’ So too regarding Moses, as it is written: “Behold, the man has become like one [of us]” (Genesis 3:22). And it is written: “Behold, your days are drawing near to die” (Deuteronomy 31:14).

(4) In the case of a Canaanite slave that was captured, and Jews who had not owned him redeemed him, if he was redeemed to be a slave then he will be a slave. If he was redeemed to be a freeman then he will not be a slave. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Both in this case and in that case he will be a slave. In the case of a slave whose master set him aside as designated repayment [apoteiki] of a debt to other people from whom he borrowed money, and afterward he emancipated him, then according to the letter of the law the slave bears no responsibility for the debt. However, for the betterment of the world, his master is forced to make him a freeman, and the slave writes a promissory note for his value to pay the debt to the creditor. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: He does not write a promissory note; he only emancipates the slave.

(3) Therefor, we will hope to You L·rd, our G·d to see speedily the glory of Your Might - to remove abominable idolatry from the earth & the false gods be utterly terminated, to repair the world with the Kingship of the Al·mighty. And all living flesh will call in Your Name to turn back to You all the wicked of the earth. They will recognize & will know, all the inhabitants of the earth, that to You that every knee shall bow down, & every tongue. Before you they will kneel & bow down & give honor to Your glorious name & they will all accept the yolk of Your Kingship. And Reign upon them speedily forever & ever. For the Kingship, it is Yours. And forevermore reign in glory. Like it is written in your Torah, “The L·rd will reign forever & ever.” And it is said “and it will be the L·rd will Be King upon all of the earth. On that day the L·rd will be One (ie, only He will be worshiped) & His name One.” And in Your Torah, L·rd, Our G·d, it is written saying “Hear Oh Israel, the L·rd is our G·d the L·rd is One.”

(1) 4. Know, too, that dispute is the aspect of Creation. For the world was created mainly by means of the Vacated Space, as explained above. This is because without it there would have been nothing but Ein Sof, with no place for the creation of the world, as explained above. He therefore contracted the Light to the sides, and the Vacated Space was made. Within it He created the entire creation—i.e., time and space—by means of the spoken word, as explained above: “By the word of God the heavens were made….”

(2) The same is true of the aspect of dispute. If all the Torah scholars were one, there would be no place for the world’s creation. However, as a result of their dispute and their separating from one another, with each one withdrawing to a different side, the aspect of the Vacated Space is made between them. This is the aspect of the contraction of the Light to the sides, within which the world is created by means of the spoken word, as explained above.

(3) This is because whatever each one of them says is only for the sake of creating the world, which they bring about within the Vacated Space that is between them. For the Torah scholars create everything through their words, as it is written (Isaiah 51:16), “and I have declared to Zion: You are ami (My people)”—do not read ami, but imi (“with Me”). Just as I make heaven and earth through My word, so you do the same (Zohar, Introduction, p.4b-5a) .

(4) Nevertheless, they must take care not to say more than is necessary; only as much as is needed for the world’s creation, no more. For as a result of an overload of the Light, the vessels, which could not bear the overload of Light, shattered. From the Shattering of the Vessels, the forces of evil came into existence. So, too, if one speaks overmuch; he thereby brings the evil forces into existence. For [his speaking] is the aspect of an overload of the Light, as a result of which there was the Shattering of the Vessels that led to the forces of evil coming into existence.