"The Value of Peace"
This week we read about the death of our Patriarch Jacob and
the ensuing fears of his sons that Joseph, their brother, would,
"Nurse hatred against us, and will surely
repay us (for) all the evil we did him."
The brothers fear that Joseph will take revenge on them
for selling him into slavery.
They concoct a story to gain Joseph’s forgiveness.
They falsely recount that Jacob wanted him to forgive them for,
"The spiteful deed of your brothers."
Nowhere do we learn that Jacob knew that his sons
had sold Joseph into slavery.
In fact, Joseph was careful to never be alone with Jacob for fear
that Jacob would ask about his past.
Perhaps this was a white lie spoken out of fear?
Or an attempt to create peace between brothers?
There is a midrash that describes Gd consulting with four different angels
before creating mankind.
The angel of kindness said, "Create them, for they will do acts of loving kindness."
The angel of truth said, "Do not create them, for they will be full of lies."
The angel of righteousness said, "Create them, for they will establish justice."
The angel of peace said, "Do not create them, for they will be in constant strife!"
Two angels supported the creation of mankind and two did not.
The Holy Blessed One grabbed truth and hurled it to the earth
leaving the majority of angels in support of Gd’s plan to create mankind.
The ministering angels said, "Ruler of all worlds , what have you done?”
Gd answered, “Let truth arise again from the earth."
Truth was flung down to our world for us to discover, use, express, and
manifest as we see fit.
Both “Peace” and ”Truth,” were coupled together in their
opposition to the creation of man.
Yet in our lives ‘truth’ and ‘peace’ often compete with each other.
Did Joseph's brothers lie in order to establish, maintain and
reinforce peace?
Perhaps there are times in our lives where
a "white" lie is necessary and in fact mandated.
“Sometimes peace is better than being right.”
Sometimes the goal of peace and harmony overrides
the need for strict adherence to the truth.
It is up to us to find the right balance between the two.
Truth was flung to the earth for us to
grapple with and evaluate how it should be used.
Bringing peace between people is also a
compelling, important and often paramount value.
Sending wishes for a Shabbat shalom
Elissa
Comments