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The Torah sometimes jars us into re-evaluating our core values. The attainment of peace seems to be a universal human desire. What subtends this longing for peace?
For many, Peace is an El Dorado, beckoning seductively with promises of freedom to pursue selfish agendas. It releases those bound to G-d with chains of needy prayer. Once there is peace of mind, does the mind yet have a place for G-d?
Our generation, in a fit of amnesia, seeks to achieve “peace in our time.” Many alchemist-diplomats and politicians and world bodies attempt to synthesize peace by simply ignoring evil, by signing agreements with the devil, by hoping against hope that the heartless will have a change of heart. They feed the beast, celebrating as a great achievement moments of quiescence, as the beast sharpens its claws.
As we have witnessed recently, those who turned a blind eye to the terror massacres in Israel and made excuses for the “oppressed” killers, those who tolerated the most virulent proponents of this toxic philosophy, trusting that their hospitality would purchase immunity, have finally been struck by the viper nesting in their midst.
The Hebrew word for peace, “shalom”, is derived from the root SH-L-M which means “whole” or “complete.” It is the natural state of existence when equilibrium is attained in the universe. The entropy created by man’s evil acts, disrupts and unsettles this natural order, creating mayhem.
Peace does not flower as a result of man’s contrivances. We pray daily that the One who makes peace in the celestial universe will make peace for us (“Oseh Shalom…”).
True peace is a product of Divine origin. Man can facilitate the production of peace, not by performing cosmetic surgery on evil, but by eradicating it in toto. Remaining faithful to Torah values, even when they are not valued by social currency, will ultimately create a climate of cosmic order, a worthy resting place for the ultimate blessing of true peace.
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