Behar-Bechukotai: The Different Pieces of Peace

There is a great quote, by a rabbi with a terrific name, that I find myself coming back to every once in a while. Ben Bag-Bag (yes, that was really his name) is quoted in Pirkei Avot (The Ethics of Our Fathers), as saying "Turn it, and turn it, for everything is in it" 
(5:22). He was referring to the Torah, and the fact that you can read, study, chant, pray on, and debate any passage, and yet somehow you KEEP finding new insights. As often as I think I've read a particular line, I marvel at how new insights just seem to jump off the page at random occasions. And this week, I'd like to share one of those with you from our Torah portion.

In the middle of talking about the Land of Israel, God makes a statement that has found its way into our Shabbat morning service. As we chant aloud the Prayer for Peace, we all recite together: "I will bring peace to the land, and you shall lie down and no one shall terrify you. I will rid the land of vicious beasts, and it shall not be ravaged by war" (Leviticus 26:6). And because we've read this line in our congregation so many times, I guess I just took it for granted. I haven't had an opportunity to look at it again with fresh eyes, and so I appreciated this week reading a Torah commentary by Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, in which Rabbi Berkowitz asks the question (and I'm paraphrasing), 'why is this passage so redundant?' I never really noticed it before, but he's right! Why didn't God just say "I will bring peace to the land"? That says it all, doesn't it? Why the need for three more elaborations and repetitions of that same notion? Is it not enough to know that the land will be peaceful, must we also hear that we will be able to lie down unterrified? Or that the land will contain no vicious beasts (read: terrorists)? Or that it won't be wrecked by devastating wars? FOUR times we are given this same concept... and I cannot help but wonder why this is so.

Rabbi Berkowitz quotes a famous medieval commentator, the Bechor Shor, as saying that 'God’s promise is twofold: it is about physically dwelling in peace, and feeling secure psychologically.' I think this is such a crucial insight. The Torah doesn't just give us ONE iteration of peace, because there are MANY different kinds of peace. Peace isn't necessarily an objective reality, it's incredibly 

subjective. You may have a home, a stable career, a loving family, and secure finances, and still feel incredibly anxious, unsettled, unhappy, and restless. You could live in abject poverty with no hope of improving your situation, but be incredibly content and satisfied nonetheless. I have presided over funerals for very wealthy people who lived lives filled with regret and disappointment; and I've officiated at funerals of very simple, unassuming people who felt like the wealthiest, luckiest people on earth. And one person's peace is another one's torment. There most certainly is NOT one, universal, all-encompassing definition of peace.

In part, this makes God's promise all the more incredible and wonderful. ALL these obstacles and challenges will be removed. External threats and internal terrors; foes, fears, and physical harm alike will all disappear. But it is also a reminder to each and every one of us to both work on all aspects of our own lives, and not to judge the situation of another. We should remember that our own happiness is NOT dependent on monetary success or international fame; the key to happiness is satisfaction and contentment, not the accumulation of 'stuff.' And similarly, we cannot look over the fence and assume that someone else is happy, just because they seem to be, or that our neighbor must surely be miserable on the basis of such-and-such indisputable evidence. We cannot take anything for granted - whether it's a prayer we've read a thousand times, or the private lives of the people all around us. We must continuously approach situations with fresh eyes and a desire to learn and discover. That is the key to genuine peace... but don't take my word for it.

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image courtesy of EvelynGiggles on Flickr

2. CC image courtesy of AshleyEustice on Flickr