Tefillah - 164 Truth Before Peace

A Prayer For Peace Upon The World

שים שלום וכו' – In the final blessing of Shemoneh Esrei, we pray for shalom: peace.

This includes [praying for] peace between man and his friend, and peace between husband and wife. Chazal state, “Hashem did not find a vessel that can contain blessing, except for shalom (peace).” Thus, Hashem wants there to be shalom in all of Klal Yisrael, not just between man and another and between husband and wife.

Even more so, we find that there must be a concept of shalom between the Jewish people and the rest of the world. The Talmud says that there we must do certain things out of “darkei shalom” (ways of peace), in order to be at peace with the gentile nations. This is because it is written of the Torah’s ways, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all of her paths are peaceful”, thus the Sages established certain rules out of “darkei shalom”. The Torah’s way is called “shalom”.

On a more esoteric level, the power of shalom (peace) is the spiritual light that is contained in the Torah, which Hashem looked into when He created the world. The light of peace that is found in the Torah was drawn onto our own world, for the world has been created from the Torah itself, which contains shalom.

In the future, there will there be total peace in Creation; it is written of the future that “the wolf will reside with the lamb”. Nowadays, however, there cannot be total peace with the rest of the world. If we try to make total peace with the nations, it is only dangerous to us.

Emes\Truth Vs. Shalom\Peace

We had two great leaders who led the Jewish nation: Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen (who was in Moshe’s stead when he ascended to Har Sinai to receive the Torah). The strong points of Moshe and Aharon were very different. Moshe mainly emphasized emes (truth) – as opposed to shalom (peace) – whereas Aharon emphasized shalom (peace) over emes (truth).

Aharon HaKohen is called by our Sages as the one who “pursues peace and loves peace”. [Moshe, however, did not relent from the emes. When he came down from the mountain and he saw the people sinning with Golden Calf, he immediately shattered the Luchos, for he knew that this is what the emes demanded right now.]

Shalom (peace) and emes (truth) are contradicting forces within our soul. When a person has too much emes, he cannot have shalom. When one has too much shalom, he cannot reach total emes.[1]

Emes Is More Important Than Shalom

We must know that in the world we live in today, our main avodah is to emphasize emes over shalom. If a person today emphasizes shalom over emes, by trying to be at peace with every person in the world, he is trying to attain the level of the future where there will be peace with the entire world, and this is currently impossible. He will end up connecting himself with those who are far from emes, as he tries to “make shalom” with all those who behave wickedly.

Making shalom with the wicked causes the wicked to negatively influence us. Although the spiritual light of the Torah can influence the wicked and cause them to return – for the power of good can influence evil - so can evil overpower good. Therefore, there is a great danger in trying to make shalom with wicked people.

In the times we live in, which are called ikvesa d’meshicha, (“the heel of Mashiach”), the Sages said that emes will be very concealed.[2] In other words, if one does not connect himself with emes, he will not survive the ikvesa d’meshicha. (On a deeper note, when emes is concealed from us, so is shalom concealed from us, because there cannot be true shalom unless there is emes.)

Examining The Sin With The Golden Calf

We see a time in our history where shalom overrode emes, and we can see how much destruction it caused; it caused total destruction to the fabric of Creation. This took place by the sin with the Eigel (the Golden Calf). When the people saw that Moshe wasn’t returning from Heaven, they grew afraid, and they demanded from Aharon that a new god be made. The depth of this is that because Moshe was temporarily gone from the world, the trait of emes which he so personified had gone with him, thus the people could not see the emes.

It wasn’t just Moshe’s body who had gone; the emes had gone with him. So the emes was concealed from them at that time. But Aharon was present with them, and Aharon’s trait was shalom. They listened to Aharon – meaning, they followed the path of shalom rather than follow the emes.

Had there been emes present there, Aharon could have never have helped with the idea of the Golden Calf. But since Moshe\emes was not present, the people ended up being influenced by the “Eirev Rav” (the Mixed Multitude) who thought of the idea to make the Calf. Once the people connected with the “Eirev Rav”, the sin with the Calf was allowed, which brought so much destruction to Creation for all generations to come.[3]

The most sanctified time in our history was when we stood at Har Sinai. There, emes presided over shalom. It was clear to all that Moshe was the leader and that Aharon was second in greatness to him; it was clear that emes overrides shalom. This represents the ideal state of Creation, where shalom is connected with emes, where Moshe is the leader and Aharon is the mouth who speaks for him; where shalom is connected with emes and represents it.

But with the sin of the Golden Calf, the people fell from the level of Har Sinai; they fell from the perspective of emes, of Moshe, and instead they were led by shalom, the trait of Aharon. But this led to a total destruction to the fabric of Creation.

Priorities: Placing Emes Before Shalom

This idea is apparent from our history, but it is also applicable to each personal soul. We are supposed to put emes before shalom.

The Torah is called Toras Emes, a “Torah of truth”; the main trait revealed through Torah is emes. The trait of shalom is a secondary aspect of Torah, for the Torah’s ways are called “ways of pleasantness” and peace”. When a person instead gives more importance to shalom over emes, it is always a catalyst for spiritual destruction. The emes becomes concealed, and then people become connected with the dangerous mixture of good and evil that fills Creation.

If we reflect into this deeply, we must understand, that the trait of shalom, by itself, must certainly be unlimited. In Heaven, there is total peace, for fire and water are allowed to co-exist there; as we see from the word “Shomayim” (Heaven), which is from the words aish (fire) and mayim (water). So too, we must have a trait of shalom in which we have boundless peace toward others. There must be shalom with the entire world; that is the very concept of shalom.

When one feels the need for shalom from the depths of his soul, he can realize the deep contradiction between emes and shalom which we are faced with on This World, and how we must decide and choose between emes and shalom.

But what usually happens with most people is that they are “either, or.” Some people do not care much about either emes or shalom; we won’t address this here. But there are people in the world who are very strong when it comes to either emes or shalom – and usually, this kind of person will act extreme, either when it comes to emes, or when it comes to shalom.

One kind of person is very passionate when it comes to pursuing emes, and because he is so much for the truth, he is far removed from the trait of shalom. Instead of “choosing” between emes vs. shalom, this kind of person won’t even consider shalom to be an option. His belief is that there must only be emes, and that there is no place at all for shalom. A person with the opposite kind of personality will have a powerful feeling for shalom, but he does not strive for emes.

We must clearly understand that we are capable of revealing unlimited shalom, and we are also capable of following absolute truth. But only when a person is clear about what the truth is (when it comes to matters of “hilchos de’os” – matters of hashkafah[4]) can he know how to have shalom. The slightest divergence from the truth is already a breach in the way of the Torah. The trait of shalom should not be allowed to cause any laxity in the emes.

Soon we will explain how we actualize this idea, but the first thing we must know is that we have to first be very strong about what the emes is, before we pursue shalom.

Living In A World of Falsity: Sticking To The Truth

In the more recent generations, and in especially in this generation, there is a great amount of falsity in the world. Most people do not know what the emes is, due to all the confusion that the falsity of the world has caused, a result of this deep exile we are in. But no matter how much falsity fills the world, one must strive to have the proper and truthful perspective towards this world; to know what the yoisher (straight and truthful path) is.

Although we are faced with so many things on this world that are not emes, we must not allow this to make us think that perhaps we can distort the emes. The trait of emes doesn’t allow for any divergences from truth. Therefore, no matter how much falsity and misconception we see on this world, we must still remain clear about what the truthful perspectives are.

Not only are we surrounded by falsity on this world from all sides. There is another misconception we are surrounded with, which is what we are mainly discussing here: there are people who want shalom with the world, and they pursue shalom so much that emes is ignored.

We can see this problem manifest both in the communal sense as well as in the individual sense. Certain communities emphasize ‘shalom’ to the point that they are all-embracing, with no bounds. On the individual level, it can manifest as a nature in a person to be leaning towards being all-embracing rather than being truthful.

Nothing should be ever be allowed to make us even slightly diverge from the emes, whether it is the falsity that comes from the surroundings, or whether it is a certain good personality trait (including the trait of peace, which is a most praiseworthy trait).

The Balance Between Emes and Shalom

At the same time, one must be able to feel a demand in his soul for shalom with all people, to the point that a lack of shalom feels painful to him. Although emes demands that we not follow shalom, we must still feel a demand for more shalom in the world. It must bother us whenever shalom is sorely lacking, such as when we encounter arguments that are not for the sake of Heaven. Even when emes demands that we not give in to shalom, we must still wish deep down that there could be shalom.

Usually when there is a demand for shalom, the emes is ignored, and when emes is emphasized, shalom is ignored. This is because the power of emes must be firmly developed before we exercise shalom, and then these two abilities will function properly and be in balance with each other. There will still be issues of emes vs. shalom even after this, but first we must make sure that our emes is developed, before we pursue shalom. When desiring that there be shalom in the world, we should wish for a kind of shalom that fills the whole world; a boundless and unlimited kind of peace.

When one feels a demand for emes as well as for shalom – when he feels a desire for absolute truth and he also wishes there could be peace throughout the world – it is then that a person arrives at a very great contradiction of the soul: emes vs. shalom.

Emes must dominate over shalom, as we said. That is the first step. But we must be aware that in the future, shalom will rule over emes. Why? Because in the future, the falsity of the world will vanish, thus there will be no problem with a dominance of shalom.

In the world we live in today, if shalom would rule over emes, the falsity of the world would be total. There would be absolutely no kernel of truth, and then Creation would not survive, for Creation depends on the existence of emes, the trait of Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the emissary that gave to us his “Toras Emes”.

But in the World To Come, where the spirit of impurity will be removed from the world and falsity will vanish, we will be left with just emes and shalom. The emes will demand that there be division in the world, and the shalom will demand that there be achdus (unity) in the world. This is the depth of “On that day, Hashem will be One and His Name will be one.” The power of echad (oneness) will be fully revealed upon Creation and it will overpower all disparity. It is another angle of understanding how shalom will preside over emes.

This is the general difference between our current world and the future, the World To Come.

Emes and Shalom In The World Today

In the world we live in today, where emes must come before shalom, the issue we face is: How far should emes go and how far should shalom go? What are the limitations of emes and shalom?

Again, as we said, we first need to develop a strong emes before we wonder about how to use the power of shalom. But after we have developed a strong sense for emes, the question is: In the actual sense, when should we let emes dominate, and when should we let shalom dominate?

It is a matter which depends one one’s personal shoresh haneshamah (soul root). Some souls are closer in their soul root to emes, and others are closer in their soul root to shalom. This is a general answer. But what is the clear answer to this issue?

As long as following shalom will cause a person to diverge from emes, it is forbidden to engage in trying to make shalom. If we can pursue shalom in a way that won’t take away from the emes, from the mitzvos of the Torah, then shalom can be pursued. But if pursuing shalom will cause even one iota of divergence from the emes, such shalom should not be pursued.

When emes and shalom are balanced together properly, this is a proper way of life which many of the great leaders of our past lived. Other leaders of our past were rooted more in emes, and they emphasized the emes over shalom. But in any case, there was never a place to allow shalom where it will take away from the emes.

Today there are misconceptions when it comes to the concept of shalom. Those who are of the Torah world must not try to make shalom with the outside, secular world. The proper and inner way to approach life is to make sure that we never budge from the Torah as we pursue shalom.

Strife and Falsity In The End of Days

If pursuing shalom will result in a breach of the emes, perhaps this can be allowed temporarily, such as in a situation of making marital peace or in making peace with others, where there is some room for shalom over emes. But even then, it is spiritually dangerous, because once the emes is pushed aside in favor of shalom, the shalom will overpower the emes, and then we are left with no emes, and eventually with no shalom.

The results will be nothing but machlokes (strife) and sheker (falsity) on this world, two evil forces of mankind which will band together in the End of Days. It all starts from a breach in emes, all in the name of “shalom”. The pursuit of emes becomes weakened as time goes on, getting weaker and weaker, and instead strife overpowers peace. Then peace and truth become concealed totally, and then we find ourselves in the prophecy of our Sages mentioned in the end of Tractate Sotah in the Talmud[5]: the truth becomes concealed.

Along with this concealment of truth comes strife and wars in the world. The Sages state that in the generation where the son of David will come, there will be wars in the world; strife between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law; and strife between son and father. This is a complete opposite of the situation of shalom: a situation of total machlokes (strife), and lashon hora (gossip), which “still dances among us”[6] - which caused the destruction of the second Beis HaMikdash.

Praying For Peace: Heralding The Future, and Surviving In The Now

Thus, now we can understand the request of שים שלום.

There are two requests contained in this. It is the final blessing of Shemoneh Esrei, and it represents the finale of our history which we are amidst: the End of Days. It is also a request about the level of the future.

We are praying for peace, for the peace of the future, where “the wolf shall reside with the lamb.” This will be accomplished through Mashiach, who will come to reveal shalom upon the world; he will connect the kingdoms of Yosef and Yehuda together, and he will connect all the sides together who argue and who have differences with each other; and on the larger scale of things, he will connect the Jewish people together with the nations of the world.

The prayer of שים שלום is specifically at the end of Shemoneh Esrei, for it is describing the End of Days, in which we are in great need of peace upon the world. We are praying in this blessing for the time in the future where shalom shall prevail over emes, for that will be the time where falsity is removed from the world. The depth of this is because the power of achdus (unity) will ultimately prevail over all the pirud (disparity). 

All of that concerns the future, however. But in the current time we live in, where we have not yet merited the coming of Mashiach, we pray for peace within this world. What kind of peace do want in our current times? We cannot have total peace in the world, for this is not yet possible. We are asking here for more “good”, and for more “blessing”; we are not asking here for total peace with Creation, for this is currently impossible, being that impurity fills the world. For as long as there is evil in the world, there cannot be total shalom on this world.

Anyone who tries to have total shalom on this world right now will not succeed, for it will only cause him to bond with the wicked, and the Sages state that this is not a real bond. Trying to bond with evil does not stem from pursing shalom; it stems from the trait of chanufah (flattery).

Only when a person feels a burning desire for truth can he reveal real shalom; a kind of shalom which does not compromise on the emes.  This is the trait of the trait of shalom which the righteous possess, and it is also the depth of how “Torah scholars increase peace on the world.”[7] Why specifically Torah scholars? It is because only a Torah scholar, who learns the Torah on a regular basis, in the “Torah of truth”, is one who can reveal shalom on the world, for genuine shalom can only come from this pure and truthful place.

By contrast, when shalom is not stemming from a place of emes in oneself, it will not be genuine. It will become a disguise for seeking flattery with the wicked.

In Conclusion

Thus, the request of Sim Shalom is not only a request to herald the future, where there will be total peace in the world; it is also a request for this current dimension we are in, that we should be a proper balance between truth and peace together.

For the time being, though - until the coming of Mashiach, may he come speedily in our days - we must strive to make emes at the forefront, so that when the shalom of the future does come, we will be able to experience it as a kind of shalom that is of ‘good’ and ‘blessing’; שים שלום טובה וברכה.