Parshat Pinchas 5779-the true meaning of ‘Shalom’

One of the great writers and scholars of the early days of the State of Israel was Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin z”l (he died in 1979).He was the first editor of the Encyclopaedia Talmudit (together with Rabbi  Asher Hilovitz z”l,who I had the pleasure of meeting and studying with in Israel in 1984), and he also produced wonderful sefarim about the gedolei yisrael, many of whom he had known, and other works of great erudition.In his sefer LeTorah Ulemoadim, on this week’s parsha , he makes some comments about the concept of peace, which are still as relevant as when they were written down, over 50 years ago.

יב  לָכֵן, אֱמֹר:  הִנְנִי נֹתֵן לוֹ אֶת-בְּרִיתִי, שָׁלוֹם.

12 Wherefore say: Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace;

In the sefer torah the word ‘shalom’ is written with a ‘vav ketiah’-a broken vav, which has a gap in the middle and looks like 2 letter ‘yuds’ on top of each other.The question is why? Also, why in the verse dealing with the reward for Pinchas’s act of zealotry and it’s reward does this strange phenomenon of the ‘vav ketiah’ appear?

Rabbi Zevin gives a wonderful explanation of this special ‘vav’ and its significance  for us, especially for the Kohen and one of  his main purposes inside the Temple.He explains that there are two types of unity-one he calls ‘organic’ and one he defines as ‘mechanical’.or external.The mechanical unity is seen ,for instance, in the building of a house.The 4 walls which become the frame of the house are ‘mechanically’ united at each corner, but are not united in any internal way.By contrast, the limbs of the human body are all united together in an internal unit,held together and animated by the life force within that particular body.

This is the difference between the word shalom written with a vav  שָׁלוֹם and the word written without a vav, which is read ‘shalem’(complete)-.שָׁלם. When the unity is seen as being שָׁלם- complete, this signifies an internal unity, like the limbs of the body, which when combined produce a completeness and unity of purpose.However, when we deal with the word שָׁלוֹם referring to the peace made between  2 parties, this cannot be described as a completeness of the 2 sides.Each party has its own interests to maintain, and as soon as the ‘love ‘is annulled , the peace can quickly evaporate.This fits perfectly to the many examples of peace treaties made by the nations of the world, up to the present day(Iran deal etc.). As soon as circumstances change, the peace deal disappears, as the original peace was not ‘organic’ but purely external, based on mutual interests. 

The peace and harmony of the Jewish people is meant to be different.As we read in Divrei Hayamim(Chronicles) 1, 17, v.21:

וּמִי֙ כְּעַמְּךָ֣ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל גּ֥וֹי אֶחָ֖ד בָּאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֩ הָלַ֨ךְ הָאֱלֹהִ֜ים לִפְדּ֧וֹת ל֣וֹ עָ֗ם לָשׂ֤וּם לְךָ֙ שֵׁ֚ם גְּדֻלּ֣וֹת וְנֹרָא֔וֹת לְגָרֵ֗שׁ מִפְּנֵ֧י עַמְּךָ֛ אֲשֶׁר־פָּדִ֥יתָ מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם גּוֹיִֽם׃

And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth, whom God went and redeemed as His people, winning renown for Yourself for great and marvelous deeds, driving out nations before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt……………….

When the Jews achieve unity, there is an organic bond between the members of Klal Yisrael, as we have experienced at times of crisis in the short history of the State of Israel.This unity was expressed by calling the Temple ‘sukkat shalem’ (as we find in the Hoshana prayers recited on Sukkot).The Temple represents this great level of unity and was invincible to destruction from enemy nations.However when the unity is lost, the Temple is called ‘sukkat shalom’ (as seen in the Friday night tefillah) which shows a mechanical’ type of unity in the Temple, but which was not invincible, as we know from the destruction of 2 Temples, which we commemorate at this time of year.

With this understanding,Rabbi Zevin explains the job and purpose of the priest in the Temple.Initially the Kohen was meant to bring peace between Jew and Jew, as we read about the ‘students’ of Aharon, in the first chapter of Pirkei Avot. The Kohen was also the final arbiter in Jewish law, as seen from the pasuk in sefer Malachi ch.2 v.7:

כִּֽי־שִׂפְתֵ֤י כֹהֵן֙ יִשְׁמְרוּ־דַ֔עַת וְתוֹרָ֖ה יְבַקְשׁ֣וּ מִפִּ֑יהוּ כִּ֛י מַלְאַ֥ךְ יְהוָֽה־צְבָא֖וֹת הֽוּא׃

For the lips of a priest guard knowledge, And men seek rulings from his mouth; For he is a messenger of the LORD of Hosts……….

whereby the Kohen would create the eternal unity of the Jewish people, who are bound together organically by the Torah and its laws and values.This now explains why the ‘vav’ is broken, in the word ‘shalom’, when referring to Pinchas and the future reward and task of the Kohen in the Temple.He was to bring about external peace(  שָׁלוֹם)  written with a ‘vav’, and also to create the ‘organic internal peace of the nation (   שָׁלם ) written without the vav. The broken ‘vav’ allows us to read the word in 2 ways, and more importantly to gain the beautiful insights which these 2 readings achieve, according to the approach of Rabbi Zevin z”l.

I would only add to Rabbi Zevin’s words, the point I alluded to above, that the broken ‘vav’ can be seen as 2’yuds’, symbolizing the necessity for two Jews to find the element of peace, even when they disagree and argue with each other.Our real strength as a nation is when we have the ‘organic’ unity , of which Rav Zevin speaks, and this seems to be the new challenge for the Jewish world today, particularly between the diaspora and Israel. Our unity is being undermined by external forces and the connection between American Jewry and the State of israel, appears to be very strained.Let us have our disagreements, but realise, in the end, that the unity of our nation is what really makes us strong and try to overcome and settle our differences ( or at least to respect each other), to ensure our future, both here and in Israel. A great challenge to us all.

Rabbi Ian Shaffer SCW/Cherry Hill NJ July 2019