Jewish Life Digital Edition September 2015 | Page 28

feature

The primacy of

Recognising the lengths to which we must
go to prevent discord with our loved ones
I By David Levin
One of the main objectives of studying the
Torah is to take away from such study an
understanding of the value system the Torah espouses. It’s wrong to treat the many
mitzvos in the Torah and rabbinical enactments with the same amount of emphasis,
and, in fact, there are many statements to
this effect in the words of our Sages.
For example, we say each day, as part of
the Birchas HaTorah (the blessing we
make over Torah study)1:
“These are the things that a person eats

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their fruits in Olam Hazeh (this world)
and whose principle remains intact in
Olam Habah (the world to come).” The gemara then starts listing mitzvos such as:
honouring our parents, doing acts of
kindness, going to the beis medrash
(house of study), providing hospitality to
guests, visiting the sick, providing for a
bride, escorting the dead, davening, and
bringing peace between people. The gemara then concludes by saying the learning and teaching of Torah are as great as

all of these other mitzvos combined! Similarly, the Rambam (Maimonides) states2
that we are obligated to be more careful
with the mitzvah of tzedakah (loosely
translated “charity”) than any other positive mitzvah in the torah.
One of the values that’s most highly
praised and emphasised in Torah is that of
shalom (peace). The words of our Sages are
absolutely brimming with statements
stressing the importance of peace and, likewise, denigrating its opposite, discord. It’s
virtually impossible to overstate the extent
to which the creation and maintenance of
peace is underscored in the Talmud and Midrashim. We’re exhorted3 in Pirkei Avos
(Ethics of Our Fathers), for example, to be
“like the students of Aharon: a lover of

photograph: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM

peace in the home