A Significant Peace
The final Mishnah of the first chapter of Pirkei Avot presents three values essential for sustaining the world. The first two are din (judgment) and emet (truth); the third is shalom (peace). Although we value and strive for justice and truth, it is equally crucial that we foster and maintain shalom. A world that champions only justice and truth is not sustainable.
Shalom is of “great” importance. This is why it is the final berachah in Birkat Kohanim. Chazal followed suit by concluding “all of our tefillot” (including Shemoneh Esreih, Birkat Hamazon, and Kaddish) the same way. Shas Mishnayot also ends with shalom, which it celebrates as the “vessel” that receives and sustains Hashem’s berachah.
Chazal teach us that shalom is equal in significance to the entire creation and the combined importance of all that exists (Sifrei Naso 42): “Without it [shalom], we have nothing” (Sifra, Bech. 1).
Shalom is important to both man and G-d. Man needs peace to survive, thrive, and build society. Hashem also prioritizes shalom. He chose it as one of His names and gave us the Torah only once we were at peace with one another (Perek HaShalom).
It is also what winning wars hinges upon. When we are at peace with one another, Hashem “cannot” (!) cause us to be defeated in war, even if we are idol worshippers (B’R 38:6).
Because of its importance, shalom should be actively pursued. Sefer Tehillim formulates it this way: “Seek and pursue peace” (Teh. 34:15). Most mitzvot are situational. If we happen upon eggs under a mother bird, we send away the mother before taking the eggs. If we choose to build a house, we place a mezuzah on its doorpost. Shalom, though, is something we need to seek out proactively (Kallah Rabbati 3).
Earlier in Avot’s first perek (1:12), Hillel identifies Aharon HaKohen as a model of the love and pursuit of peace. Aharon worked tirelessly to restore and foster peace between spouses and between friends. He would help them appreciate one another and realize that the other also appreciated them (Avot DR”N 12:3). Understandably, when Aharon died, the entire Jewish people deeply mourned for him (Bam. 20:29).
Pursuing peace is so important that we sacrifice other values to achieve it. Hashem Himself set this standard. To restore peace between husband and wife, He commands a sotah, a woman suspected of infidelity, to drink water mixed with dirt, which miraculously clarified her fidelity. To show the importance of this goal, Hashem mandated erasing His holy Name as part of the process (Chul. 144a). Hashem could have orchestrated the same result without this erasure; by requiring it, He taught us the great value of shalom.
Chazal learned from and expanded upon this precedent. To generate peace, they instituted using the word “shalom” as a friendly greeting, despite it being Hashem’s holy Name (Ber. 9:5). Though the Decalogue prohibits uttering Hashem’s name in vain, Chazal instituted using it to greet each other because of shalom’s importance. In truth, we are not using His name in vain; we use it to bring peace (Rashi, Ber. 54b).
Though emet is one of the world’s pillars, we sometimes sacrifice it for shalom’s sake. Chazal derive this from the fact that Hashem lied to Avraham about Sarah’s reaction to the news of her upcoming pregnancy, and Yosef’s brothers lied to him about Yaakov’s request to forgive them to sustain peace (Yev. 65b).
This is also why Beit Shamai and Beit Hillel married “across party lines” despite their disagreements concerning issues of marital status. Though both groups firmly believed in the truth of their respective opinions about issues, including marital status, they avoided separating from one another. The Gemara (Yev. 14b) explains that their actions fulfilled Zecharyah HaNavi’s mandate to “love truth and peace” (Zech. 8:19). Beit Shamai and Beit Hillel loved emet, and they also loved shalom.
We should learn from them not to let our commitment to truth hinder our ability to live in peace with one another as one people.
The Akeidat Yitzchak (Bam. 74) and Rav Kook (Shalom Bashem) explain that shalom includes more than just the absence of hostility. The fullest sense of the word implies people appreciating and working together with others. As opposed to the word “peace,” which derives from the Latin word “pax” and is related to the word “appeasement,” the Hebrew word “shalom,” like the related word “shalem,” means whole or complete. Shalomdescribes a situation where the entire Jewish people (and the whole world) live and work together as part of a unified creation.
Rav Kook applies this to the goals described by Shimon Hatzaddik at the beginning of Avot’s first perek—Torah, avodah, and gemilut chasadim. Rav Kook explains that those involved in gemilut chasadim and those focused on avodah should each appreciate one another’s endeavors. Additionally, both of them should respect and work with the theorists—those involved in Torah study. In this way, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel’s statement (at the end of the perek) complements Shimon Hatzaddik’s earlier one.
Shalom describes a situation where all elements of the world appreciate one another and work together to realize common goals. The Netivot Shalom explains that this is what we mean when we refer to Hashem as “making peace in the Heavens.” There is no need to resolve arguments in Heaven. Heavenly peace connotes all celestial beings working together to glorify G-d’s name.
May peace in the Heavens above inspire us to strive for similar peace in our world below by avoiding machloket and seeking to appreciate and work with one another. n
Rav Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA.
His new book, Essentials of Judaism, can be purchased at RabbiReuvenTaragin.com.
