Musar do Izajasza 32:17

Come and see how great is the power of peace. For in the beginning of the creation of the universe the Holy One Blessed be He employed Himself in the creation of an instrument of peace, as it is written (Bereshith 1:3): "And G-d said: 'Let there be light' — and there was light." And how do we know that light is peace? For it is written (Isaiah 45:7): "He fashions light and creates darkness; He makes peace and creates evil." On this basis, our teachers of blessed memory ruled (Shabbath 23b): "As between a candle for his house and wine for kiddush, to sanctify the Sabbath [if he can afford only one], a candle for his house takes precedence because of the peace of his household." What is more, our sages enacted many ordinances in pursuit of the paths of peace, viz. (Gittin 59a): "They declared the following in pursuit of the paths of peace: 'The Cohein reads first [in the Torah], then the Levite, then the Israelite, because of "the paths of peace."'" An eruv [a halachic enabling device] is placed in an old house, because of "the paths of peace." The pit nearest the irrigation canal is filled first because of "the paths of peace."'" And so is it written (Proverbs 3;17): "Its [Torah's] ways are ways of pleasantness and all of its paths are peace." And thus did our sages of blessed memory say in the aggadah (Bamidbar Rabbah 15:13, Tanchuma Beha'alothecha 11): "There are thirteen things that the Holy One Blessed be He loved, and of all of them, He "doubled" [in profusion of love], only "peace." They [(the thirteen)] are: Cohanim, Levites, Israel, Sanhedrin [the high court], the first-born, the offerings of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the oil of anointment, the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, the kingdom of the house of David, and the silver and the gold. The Cohanim — (Shemoth 28:41): "And they shall be priests unto Me." the Levites (Numbers 3:41): "And I shall take the Levites unto Me." Israel — (Shemoth 19:6): "And you [Israel] shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests." Sanhedrin — (Numbers 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men." The first-born — (Shemoth 13:2) "Sanctify unto Me every first-born." The offerings of the tabernacle — (Ibid. 25:2): "And they shall take unto Me an offering." The sacrifices — (Numbers 28:2): "You shall heed to sacrifice unto Me in its appointed time." The oil of anointment — (Shemoth 30:31): "The holy oil of anointment shall this be unto Me for your generations." The Land of Israel — (Ibid. 19:5): "For unto Me is all the land." Jerusalem — (I Kings 11:36): "The city that I have chosen unto Me." The Temple — (I Chronicles 17:12): "He shall build unto Me a habitation." The kingdom of the house of David — (I Samuel 16:1): "For I have seen in his sons a king unto Me." The silver and the gold — (Chaggai 2:8): "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold." But, of all of these, none was doubled [in profusion of love] but "peace," as it is written (Isaiah 27:5): "Or let him take hold of My strength. He shall make peace unto Me; peace shall he make unto Me." Great is peace, which takes precedence to praise of the Blessed One Himself. For when Yithro came to Moses, immediately (Exodus 18:7): "And each made inquiry of the other's peace," whereas only afterwards (Ibid. 8): "And Moses related to his father-in-law all of the miracles that the Holy One Blessed be He had wrought for Israel." What is more, for all of the mitzvoth that the wicked perform in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He gives them their reward in this world — such as wealth, property, years, honor, and the like — except peace, which He does not give them, as it is written (Isaiah 57:21): "There is no peace, says my G-d, for the wicked." And, what is more, the Holy One Blessed be He gives peace as a reward to the righteous, as it is written (Ibid. 32:17): "And the reward for righteousness shall be peace…" What is more, it is with peace that He draws near to Him converts and penitents, as it is written (Ibid. 57:19): "He creates the utterance of the lips: 'Peace, Peace,' for the far and the near, says the L-rd, and I will heal him." Great is peace, for in regard to all of the journeyings in the desert it is written "And they journeyed and they rested," journeying in strife and resting in strife. But when they came to Mount Sinai, they made one great "resting," as it is written (Shemoth 19:2): "And Israel rested there, before the mountain." (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "The Holy One Blessed be He said: 'The time has now arrived for Me to give Torah to My children.'" For as long as they are at peace with one another, the Shechinah is among them. And thus is it said (Devarim 33:5): "And He was a King in Yeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered, together with the tribes of Israel." When does the kingdom and the Shechinah of the Blessed One abide in Israel? When they are all gathered together as one. Come and see how great is the power of peace; for it is through the power of peace that the world endures. For thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Avoth 1:18): "On three things does the world stand: on judgment, on truth, and on peace, as it is written (Zechariah 8:16): 'Truth and a judgment of peace shall you judge in your gates.'" What is more, when there is peace among men, there is blessing in their fruits, as it is written (Ibid. 12): "For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give its dew, and I shall bequeath all of these to the remnant of this people." And thus is it written (Psalms 147:14): "He makes peace on your borders and sates you with the fatness of wheat." Our sages have said (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for if one erases one letter of G-d's name, he transgresses a negative commandment, as it is written (Devarim 12:3): 'And you shall wipe out their [the idols'] name from that place,' followed by (Ibid. 4): 'You shall not do so to the L-rd your G-d.' Yet to make peace between a man and his wife, the Torah says (Numbers 5:23): 'And the Cohein shall write these curses [containing G-d's name] in a book and erase them into the bitter waters.' The Holy One Blessed be He says: 'Let My name, which was written in holiness, be erased by the waters.'" And Chazal have said further (Vayikrah Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for all of the goodly blessings and consolations that the Holy One Blessed be He convokes upon Israel conclude with "peace." The Shema — "He spreads a canopy of peace." The Amidah — "He makes peace." The priestly blessing — "And He shall repose peace upon you." "Therefore, my sons, be circumspect in this trait — to love peace and to pursue peace. For there is no end to the reward for loving peace and pursuing peace." Until here, the language of Ma'aloth Hamiddoth.

Laws concerning property damage, financial compensations, etc. in the portion of משפטים are listed right after the Ten Commandments to show that all legislation emanates from G–d. When our sages in Avot described תורה, עבודה, גמילות חסדים "Torah, service of the Lord, deeds of loving kindness" as well as אמת, דין, and שלום , "truth, justice and harmony" as being the pillars which are the foundation that all civilization is based on, that is what they had in mind. אמת and תשובה are category A; עבודה and תפלה are category B; תורה and דין are category C; צדקה, and גמילות חסדים are category D, the final category. There remains the pillar of שלום, peace, harmony, which must be viewed as the "seal" of the previous four categories listed. Unless there is שלום, none of the other categories can achieve their purpose. This is what the prophet Zachariah 8,19, has in mind when he says "והאמת והשלום, אהבו!" "love truth and peace!" He states that success and happiness are contingent on the presence of these factors. It is written concerning the repentant sinner "peace, peace to the distant as well as to the near one," which our sages interpret as referring to people who were once far removed from our tradition but have found their way back (Isaiah 57,19). The "seal" of the עבודה, the priestly blessing, in our daily prayers is שלום, peace, as is the concluding benediction in our principal prayer, the עמידה. We find a similar thought expressed in Isaiah 32,17: "The work of the righteous shall be peace."

The following is a quote from the commentary of the Rekanati on the subject of צדקה: "It is well known that a great many commandments are bound up with the commandment to give charity. The matter is similar to the number of organs in man's body which all depend on the soul for his survival. Some of man's organs more than others depend on the health of the central life-sustaining force. Were it not for the dispensation of charity, the poor would be forced to engage in thieving, robbery and a host of other transgressions. We have pointed out on numerous occasions that when good deeds are performed "down here" in our world, positive forces are created in the Celestial Regions. Even a small coin donated to charitable causes in our world is called צדקה. This enables the צדיק to unite with the emanation צדק [otherwise known as מלכות. Ed.] and to establish harmony with it. This is the meaning of Isaiah 32,18: והיה מעשה הצדקה שלום, ועבודת הצדקה השקט ובטח עד עולם, "For the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness calm and confidence forever." The prophet Hosea 10,12 also states: זרעו לכם לצדקה, קצרו לפי חסד, "Sow righteousness for yourselves; reap the fruits according to goodness." We have other verses such as וצדקה תציל ממות, "And (the performance of) righteousness saves from death" (Proverbs 10,2). When people sin and the earth dies out (as a result), then the "feet" of the emanation מלכות descend towards "death" and anyone who causes any damage [in the sense of spiritually undermining the basis. Ed.] to the feet of this "מלכות" will die without mercy and pity. Woe to such a time! When someone, however, causes the צדיק to be united with צדק, beneficial rainfall for the earth will result bringing life in its wake. From this we learn that he who donates to charity in our world causes acts of righteousness to be performed in the Celestial Regions. This is the mystical dimension of the statement in Proverbs 10,2 that "righteousness saves from death." Were it not for the union established with the emanation מלכות, anyone who would do something prejudicial to it would die. This is the meaning of Proverbs 16,12: כי בצדקה יכון כסא, "For a throne is firm if based on righteousness;" we have other verses in the same sense such as Isaiah 1,27: ושביה בצדקה, that the repentant sinners will be redeemed through righteousness. A similar thought is expressed in Isaiah 54,14: בצדקה תכוננו, "You shall be established through righteousness." The secret of domestic peace and harmony is also anchored in the practice of צדקה.