I am immediately reminded of my favourite quote from the Jewish book Pirkei Avot (‘Ethics of the Fathers’):

> It is not your duty to finish the work [of perfecting the world], but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.

I grew up Jewish. I have lost my faith, but that quote is still fundamental to how I see my place in the world.

	▲	kuerbel an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I'm an atheist but I really like: >Therefore man was created single in the world to teach that for anybody who destroys a single life it is counted as if he destroyed an entire world, and for anybody who preserves a single life it is counted as if he preserved an entire world. (Directly from the Mishna in the Talmud Yerushalmi)