Jewish mysticism teaches that for our world to be created, an infinite G-d had to contract (tsimtsum) to make room for beings other than G-d to exist. When G-d brought divine light into the world (Genesis 1:3), the vessels could not contain the light and broke open (shvira), scattering the sparks of light everywhere. In this view of creation and how we and G-d's light came to occupy the same space, we understand that one of our jobs as human beings is to gather the sparks of light scattered throughout time and space, to elevate them and return them to their source. The gathering of these sparks is called tikkun, repair or fixing.

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These sparks are found in all sorts of places - in mitzvot like keeping Shabbat, feeding the hungry and pursuing justice for widows and orphans. They are also found in the divine relationship between two people studying Torah (even through a screen) and in tefilah, prayer, an intimate conversation between a person and themselves and between a person and the Divine, however that is understood.

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Learning Hebrew and being able to read and gain an understanding of ancient and modern Jewish texts in their original language may be thought of as another kind of Tikkun, of repair. For some people, their journey into Hebrew helps them repair or strengthen their own relationship to the Jewish people. For others, learning Hebrew is a pathway into deepening their limud, their Torah learning. Along the way in all of these journeys are sparks of light, and gathering them helps fix what was broken in the beginning. 

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Tikkun Hebrew was started with a very specific goal in mind - to help make Hebrew accessible to whoever wants to learn. 

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Interested in learning more? Check out the Tikkun Hebrew Blog, get in touch to find out about learning packages currently available, or reach out to learn more about joining a class. 

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