Shemoneh Esrei 63 - And Finally... Peace!
ברוך אתה ה', המברך את עמו ישראל בשלום - Blessed are You, Hashem, Who blesses His people Israel with peace.
We begin with a quote from Shemoneh Esrei 59:
Peace allows all the other brachos in life to be enjoyed; without peace, all of the other brachos in life cannot be enjoyed. Peace has many dimensions: It is needed in our family life, in our country, and in the world (Ksav Sofer). To live a peaceful life, one must be at peace with Hashem, with his fellow man, and with himself.
To conclude this brachah and the formal Shemoneh Esrei, allow us to present just a few of the many powerful statements that Chazal have made about Shalom and why the Shemoneh Esrei, Birkas Kohanim, Shir HaShirim, korbanos (korban sh’lamim), and Shishah Sidrei Mishnah – to name a few – all end with “shalom.” The following passages from Chazal are quoted in Kad HaKemach, written by Rabbeinu Bachyei, a talmid of the Rashba:
בוא וראה כמה גדול כח השלום, שאפילו ישראל עובדי עבודה זרה והם נעשין חבורה אחת אין מדת הדין פוגעת בהם Come and see how great is the power of Peace, that even when Yisrael were idol worshippers, when they did so as a unified group, the attribute of strict judgment was not able to affect them.
גדול הוא השלום, שהרי נכתבו בתורה דברים שלא היו , מפני השלום...שהרי המלאך שנה דבורו מפני השלום So great is the attribute of Peace that certain things that were foretold never took place as a result of [the attribute of] peace [that was exercised]… …that, as an example [of many], the angel changed his wording [B’reishis 18:13] for the sake of peace…
וכן אמרו במסכת מגילה: ברכה של הקדוש ברוך הוא שלום הוא... As it states in the Talmud (Megillah 18a) [relating to the placing of Sim Shalom after Birkas Kohanim], the blessing of HaKadosh Baruch Hu is peace [T’hilim 29:11].
כל הקרבנות חתומים בשלמים. ואמרו רבותינו ז"ל: למה נקרא שמן שלמים? שמטילים שלום בעולם. All of the korbanos concluded in the sh’lamim. And Chazal asked, “Why were they named “sh’lamim”? [midrashim in Parshas Tzav:] Because they bring peace in the world [and between Yisrael and their Father in Heaven, Midrash Tanchuma].
וכן שלמה חתם ספר שיר השירים בשלום - שיר השירים ח:י And Shlomo [HaMelech], as well, concluded Shir HaShirim (8:10) with “peace.”
תני רבי ישמעאל: גדול הוא השלום, שהשם הנכתב בקדושה הוא נמחה על המים כדי להטיל שלום בין איש לאשתו - ויקרא רבה Rabbi Yishmael taught: So great is the attribute of Peace that the name of Hashem, which is written in holiness, is erased in the waters [of the Sotah] in order to restore domestic trust and marital peace [VaYikra Rabbah].
גדול השלום שהוא שקול כנגד הכל - במדבר רבה So great is the attribute of Peace that it is equal to everything else [BaMidbar Rabbah].
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May we be zocheh to shalom and sh’leimus with our relationships with Hashem, our fellow Jews, all of humanity, and ourselves.