(יב) הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה:
(12) Hillel and Shammai received [the oral tradition] from them. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.
(ז) אוהב את הבריות כיצד מלמד שיהא אדם אוהב את הבריות ולא יהא שונא את הבריות שכן מצינו באנשי דור הפלגה שמתוך שאוהבין זה את זה לא רצה הקב״ה לאבדן מן העולם אלא פזרן בארבע רוחות העולם אבל אנשי סדום מתוך שהיו שונאים זה את זה אבדן הקב״ה מן העוה״ז ומן העוה״ב שנא' (בראשית יג) ואנשי סדום רעים וחטאים לה׳ מאד וחטאים זה גילוי עריות לה׳ זה חילול ה׳. מאד שמתכוונין וחוטאים. הא למדת מתוך ששונאין זה את זה אבדן הקב״ה מן העולם הזה ומן העולם הבא:
(7) Love all people. How so? This teaches us that a person should love all people and not hate anyone. For so we find with the people of the Generation of the Dispersion,1See Genesis 11:1–9. that because they loved one another, the Holy Blessed One did not want to wipe them off the face of the earth, but instead only scattered them to the four corners of the world. But the people of Sodom, because they hated one another, the Holy Blessed One took them out of both this world and the World to Come, as it says (Genesis 13:13), “And the people of Sodom were very wicked and sinful against God.” “Sinful” – this is sexual transgression; “against God” – this the desecration of God’s name; “very” – this means that they sinned intentionally. From this you learn that because they hated one another, the Holy Blessed One took them out of both this world and the World to Come.7.
“You don’t make peace with friends. You make it with very unsavory enemies”
“I think peace should be done not only among governments but among people. It was impossible before the Facebook.”
“ Peace is not an absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”
While the above image may be a picture of Yin and Yang, a concept of Daoism suggesting that peace is found when opposite opposing forces are brought together, Judaism has a similar idea. The Hebrew word shalom, usually meaning peace, is the same word for wholeness.
• What does it mean to pursue peace?
• How is peace best sort?
• Is there ever a time to avoid peace?
• Is peace easier now with social media, or more difficult?
• Do you think of peace as a Jewish value?
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Just adding a comment to finish the assignment. Thanks Rachel!