PEACE:
“And you shall not
hurt the feelings of one another, but you shall fear your Hashem, for I, Hashem
am your Hashem. (Vayikra 25:17)
If you hurt another Jew, it is obvious that you lack fear of
Hashem. Would you insult a prince, the son of a mortal King in front of the
King unless you didn’t fear his punishment? The same respect we must have for
our fellow Jew. We must understand that he is a part of Hashem from above.
“Hatred causes
strife, but love draws a cover over all transgressions.” (Proverbs 10:12)
If you love your fellow Jew and do kindness to others then Hashem can’t bear to look at your sins but instead looks only your merits.
“One who conceals the
wrong done to him by a friend will be loved by his friend, and one who repeats
this wrong continuously will cause a break in their relationship”. (Proverbs
17:9)
Many times we love our friend so much that we want to help
them perfect every quality they possess. A friend has to know how to tactfully
bring their friend up. We feel so close to those we love that we feel we can
just blunt out what we feel. This is far from the truth. For those we are close
to, we have to use even more restraint.
“When a man’s ways
please Hashem, He even makes his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Proverbs
16:7)
When others turn away from you, it is a sign you have to
refocus your ways in serving Hashem more starkly. When you return to Hashem,
then others will return to you in peace.
“If your enemy is
hungry give him bread to eat and if he is thirsty give him water to drink.”
(Proverbs 25:21)
It’s easy to make peace with those already close to you but
to make peace with your enemy is a sign of true love of Hashem.
“Seek peace and
pursue it!” (Psalms 34:15)
People always wait for peace instead of going after it. If
you want peace, you have to make it and not wait for it to come to you.
“Therefore love ye
truth and peace” (Zechariah
It is only those who have a great love for peace that pursue it.
“Better a close
neighbor than a brother far away.” (Proverbs 27:10)
Who do we consider a friend, a person whom we can take from.
This is our natural tendency. It’s easier to take from those nearer to us. If
only we could say that our friendships are about our own self need to give.
“Let your foot be
seldom in your neighbor’s house lest he be sated with you and hate you.”
(Proverbs 25:17)
If you want to keep a long lasting friend, give them reason to come to your home rather then always visit them always.
“And Amnon hated her
with a very great hatred for the hatred with which he hated her was greater
than the love with which he had loved her.” (2 Shemuel 13:15)
For those we once loved with all our hearts, we can grow to hate more then others. This is because we hate them for stealing our love and because we opened our hearts to them only to have our hearts broken. I only wonder if many of times the hate now is really fonder love.
“He makes peace in
His heavenly heights.” (Job 25:2)
Just as Hashem makes peace in his palace, so must we make
peace within our own palaces. That is between our character traits and emotions
there must be balance and a sense of peace.
“They hate me because
I pursue good” (Psalms 38:21)
Everyone thinks that they know the real truth of the matter. So when another goes after a different path, people hate them because of this. This only goes to show that their path is not a real one because otherwise they would be pursuing love.
“I am for peace, but
when I speak, they are for war.” (Psalms 120:7)
We can learn from the example of King David that no matter how much Saul pursued him to try and kill him; he never gave up on making peace with him.
“Truth and a judgment
of peace shall you judge in your gates.” (Zechariah 8:16)
We have to make our home a place where when we look at
others, we only judge them on the scale of merit, assuming they have good
intentions. This will bring us peace of mind. Always finding the faults of
others only causes us anger and hatred in our hearts.
“He makes peace on
your borders and sates you with the fatness of wheat.” (Psalms 147:14)
Those who have peace are blessed with wealth.
“It is an honor to a
man to abstain from a quarrel.” (Proverbs 20:3)
Instead of thinking that participating in a quarrel will
cause you to be a winner, understand that abstaining is much more worthy
obtainment.
“In an abundance of
words offense shall not cease, and he who spares his lips is wise.” (Proverbs
10:19)
When speaking to those whom you tend to quarrel with, do not
prolong the conversation.
“And the humble will
inherit the land and they will delight in a plenitude of peace. (Psalms 37:11)
A humble person is always at peace with others. Those with pride are always at strife.
“It is fear of Hashem
to hate evil.” (Proverbs 8:13)
“For indeed those who
hate You, O Hashem, I hate them and with those who rise up against You, I
quarrel.” (Psalms 139:21)
“Do not take revenge
or bare a grudge. (Vayikra 19:18)
“And you shall love
your fellowman as yourself.”(Vayikra 19:18)
“I have hated every
false path” (Psalms 119:128)
Mishlei 17:17
“Do not hate your
brother in your heart.” (Vaykra 19:17)
Judges