A very smart person once said that it’s not your job to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you can’t shy away from doing your part. (His name was Rabbi Tarfon, and he lived 2,000 years ago in a town right next to where Israel’s international airport stands today.)
Have you ever thought about what your part can be?
That’s one of the most important Jewish questions. Each person is challenged to figure out little and big ways, according to their values, to make the world better—what we call tikkun olam, fixing the world. Each song in the “Fix It” playlist talks about a different way of doing just that.
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Track 1 “Stand Up”
Written and performed by Chava Mirel.
This song reflects on the first story Jews tell about being human. The story (from the Torah, Genesis, Chapter 2) is set in the Garden of Eden, a gorgeous place with rivers, lush plants, and trees bursting with fruit. Adam and Eve, the only humans around, have one job to do: to “tend and guard” the garden – in Hebrew, l’avda ul’shomra.
In many ways, not much has changed. This song says that there’s no more important work for humans to be doing today than caring for our garden, the planet Earth.
- How does this song make you feel?
- What’s one way in which you stand up for the earth?
Track 2 “Gevurah (Strength)”
Written and performed by Molly Bajgot.
Each day, many Jews recite a traditional prayer, the silent Amida, the “standing prayer.” Its second section (called Gevurah) praises God as mechayeh hameitim, the One who gives life to the dead.
What does that mean?
One possible meaning of “giving life to the dead” is including people who have historically been left out. This song says it takes love and strength for God – and for all of us – to achieve that.
- This song calls for us to fight “until everyone is free.” What do you think the world will look like when everyone is free?
- What’s one way in which you’d like to feel more free?
Track 3 “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Written and performed by Bob Dylan. Originally named Robert Allen Zimmerman (a Jewish boy from Minnesota), Dylan is considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
This song was written in 1962, when war and unrest were widespread. In his hope to repair the world, Dylan asks a question that is as true today as it was then: “How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?”
- This song asks many questions. What questions do you have about the world today?
- What do you think the song’s most famous phrase (“The answer is blowin’ in the wind”) means?
Track 4 “L’takein”
Written and performed by Lucy Greenbaum.
This song offers thanks for letting us help fix the world: Blessed are You... who has given us an opportunity to fix the world.
Baruch ata... shenatan lanu hizdamnut l’takein et ha’olam.
It also includes an ancient teaching from Rabbi Hillel: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?
When you put the two together, it means the following: You have been given a chance to make the world better. Get started!
- Our favorite part of the song is when the singer’s voice gets lower and then higher. What’s your favorite part of this song?
Track 5 “Salaam”
Sheva is an Israeli band that performs world music.
This song juxtaposes the Hebrew and Arabic words for peace: shalom and salaam. These words are closely related, and so are Jews and Arabs, who both trace their ancestry to the same father figure, Abraham. This song is a prayer that, one day, Jews and Arabs will live in peace.
Track 6 “Hallelujah”
Written by Leonard Cohen, a Canadian Jewish musician. Arranged by Tom Hodge and performed by Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Alinka Rowe, Didier Osindero, and Yong Jun Lee.
This is an instrumental version of a famous song by Leonard Cohen. When he wrote the song, Cohen said, “When one looks at the world, there’s only one thing to say, and it’s ‘Hallelujah!’”
- Stop everything and just listen to the music. Maybe—just maybe—this is the sound of a world that’s been completely fixed.
- What do you picture while you listen to this music?
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March 31, 2026