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Peace:
- The gateway to Torah is through humility and meekness. Torah has the
power to draw penitents and converts closer to God, and this is how the glory
of God is exalted and magnified and the fear of God spreads throughout the
world. This brings peace (14:2-5).
- There are two kinds of peace. There is the peace `in one's bones' in
oneself. This is the first priority, because at times a person has no peace
in himself, as it is written: `There is no peace in my bones because of my
sin' (Psalms 38:4). When a person develops genuine fear of Heaven he can
attain peace within himself. Through this he is able to pray. And prayer
leads to the second kind of peace universal peace, when there is peace in
all the worlds (Ibid. 8).
- The leaders of the generation, who give criticism and guidance, bring
abundant peace into the world. They also make peace between Israel and their
Father in Heaven (22:1).
- As peace spreads in the world the whole world can be drawn to serve
God with one accord. Because when men are at peace with each other they talk
to one another and together they can think about the purpose of the world
and all its vanities. People then talk to each other about the realities
of life that in the final analysis, when a person dies, nothing remains of
him except whatever preparations he has made for the eternal world which
awaits him after death. Neither silver nor gold accompany a man after his
death... When people understand this they will abandon their illusions and
their idols of silver and aspire only to God and His Torah. Their only aim
will be to serve God and seek out the truth. But when there is no peace in
the world, and even worse when there is strife and dissension, men are not
open with one another and they never discuss the purpose of life. Even when
somebody is open about it his words fail to enter the hearts of other people,
because people are not interested in finding out the truth, all they want
is to win the argument: they are aggressive and full of hatred and jealousy.
When somebody wants to win an argument his ears are not open to the truth.
The main reason why most people are so far from God is because of the divisiveness
and strife which are so widespread today because of our many sins (Ibid.
6).
- Moral purity leads to peace (Ibid. 6).
- The search for peace must be twofold: within the Jewish people as a
whole and within each individual himself. Each person must resolve any conflicts
which exist between the different parts of his character. He must also develop
a harmonious approach to his life experiences as a whole, so that it makes
no difference to him whether things are seemingly good or bad: he will always
find God in everything. It is through Torah and the Tzaddikim that we can
achieve this harmony. Both are called `peace,' and through them each person
can feel his love for God regardless of his situation whether things are
good or seemingly bad. He will also feel his love for his fellow Jew. This
way peace will spread throughout the Jewish people (33).
- To spread peace, give charity (57:6).
- Divisiveness leads to atheism, and prevents people from praying with
genuine devotion. But when men are at peace and open with each other, people
can be guided away from their illusions and free themselves of their doubts
and atheistic inclinations. When there is strife between people, they are
not open with one another and it is impossible to speak to other people and
draw them towards the truth. Even if people do talk to each other, their
main concern is to win the argument, which means that neither side is open
to the words of the other. Therefore true faith depends on peace (62:2).
- The way to attain peace is through studying Torah law as set forth
in the legal codes. Then you will be able to pray with all your heart (Ibid.).
- The real meaning of peace is to fit together two opposites. So you
shouldn't be disturbed when you come across someone who is the exact opposite
of yourself and thinks the exact opposite.
- Do not assume you will never be able to live amicably with him.
And similarly if you see two people who are completely opposite types, you
should not decide it is impossible to make peace between them. Quite the
contrary! Perfect peace is achieved through the effort to make peace between
two opposites, just as God makes peace in His high places between Fire and
Water, which are two opposites. The way to achieve peace is through complete
self-sacrifice to sanctify the name of God. Then it is possible to pray with
genuine devotion (80).
- God always takes into account the good that people do. It may be that
something not so good was mixed up with it, but God pays no attention to
this. If this is God's way, how much more so should we attempt to do the
same. Never look for the bad side of other people or hunt out their shortcomings
and weak points when it comes to religion. Look only for the good and always
search out the merit and worth in them. You will then be at peace with everybody
(II, 17).
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