07 Jul THE LIMITS OF SHALOM

I. Peace and
Religious Crisis
We live in an age
of polarization, of
partisan conflict and
cancellation. We need
to overcome these
divisions through unity and peace. Jewish
tradition holds shalom, peace, communal
harmony, as a high value. The Sages describe
shalom as the vessel that contains blessing
(Mishnah, Uktzin 3:12), and Rambam
eloquently states that the Torah was given to
bring peace into the world (Mishneh Torah,
Hilchos Chanukah 4:14). We are instructed
to place shalom above other values, such as
truth, when unavoidable. Yet, shalom has its
limits. Of course, the Bible tells us that there
is a time for peace and a time for war (Eccl.
3:8). Beyond the need for self-defense, there
is a time to sacrifice for communal harmony
and a time to stand on principle. We see that

particularly in the writings of nineteenth-
century defenders of German Orthodoxy.

At that time, Jews in Germany (and later
in Eastern Europe) were leaving Torah
observance en masse. The opportunities
offered by emancipation made religious
reform and secularization extremely enticing
to the Jewish public. Time and again, Orthodox
Judaism found itself on the defensive. Broadly
speaking, there are two roads to leading a

largely secular life. The first is apathy, simply
failing to observe religious rituals. The second
is heresy, denying the teachings underlying
religious rituals which thereby frees, at least
in their minds, the individual from observance.
Apathy usually leads to heresy as a post facto
justification of non-observance. In those days,
there were many Jews who encouraged their
brethren to abandon traditional beliefs and
practices, and embrace a more secular lifestyle.
This growing ideological and social rift
eventually found expression in civil law. 150
years ago, on July 28, 1876, the Prussian
parliament (part of the broader German
legislative system at the time) passed a law
allowing secession from a Jewish community
without formally renouncing affiliation with
Judaism. This enabled Orthodox Jews and
non-Orthodox Jews to split, to create their
own, separate communities. In this anniversary
month, we will take the opportunity to examine
some of the issues involved with these
theological disagreements and particularly
with secession—a legal mechanism that
forced leading Orthodox thinkers of the era to
choose between communal unity and religious
integrity.
The Orthodox rabbinate struggled to find the
tools to counter these new threats to traditional
Jewish life. Many rabbis followed traditional
patterns and responded ineffectively to the
theological and practical challenges of the day.

Those who fought back with new tools found
some success in creating thriving Orthodox
communities. But is not this confrontation with
disbelief and non-observance the opposite of
shalom?
II. Peace Begins With G-d
Rav Ya’akov Ettlinger (1798-1871) served as
the chief rabbi of Altona. The yeshiva he led
was extremely influential, training many of

the leading rabbis of Germany. His Aruch La-
Ner commentary on the Talmud has become a

classic. Rav Ettlinger was a leading opponent
of religious reform in Germany. In his Minchas
Ani collection of sermons (Parashas Pinchas),
he writes: “A fighter in the war of G-d against
the heretics should not hold back because
of the false claim that peace is of supreme
importance and that it is better to strengthen
unity among all who are called by the name
of Israel than to create division of hearts….”
Why does peace not take priority? Rav
Ettlinger explains that first we must have
peace with G-d and only afterwards peace with
our fellow Jew and man. Our first obligation is
to follow the divine command to believe and
observe, and encourage others to believe and
observe. We see this from the biblical story
of Pinchas. In the face of Zimri’s sacrilegious
immodesty, Pinchas made a public spectacle
of punishing the sinners (Num. 25:7-8).
Pinchas’ divine reward for this provocative
act was a “covenant of peace” (Ibid., v. 12).
Rav Ettlinger elaborates that since Pinchas
restores the peace between the Jews and
G-d, he received a personal covenant of
peace.
Rav Azriel Hildesheimer (1820-1899) was a
student of Rav Ettlinger who initially served
as a rabbi in Hungary and then returned to
Germany to serve the Orthodox community
in Berlin, where he opened a modern
rabbinical seminary that was faithful to
traditional beliefs and practices. This
Berlin seminary trained rabbis to promote
and defend Orthodox Judaism against its
modern detractors.
In an uncharacteristically long exegetical
essay, included in his responsa as a
commentary on Parashas Pinchas (vol. 2,
pp. 499-501), Rav Hildesheimer examines
the limits of shalom. He refers sarcastically
to “the pursuers of peace ‘at all costs’” and
disputes a biblical interpretation they offer.
He quotes the last Mishnah (Uktzin, loc.
cit.) that there is no vessel which contains
blessing like peace but adds a textual note.
The Mishnah actually says that there is no
vessel which contains blessing “for Israel”
like peace. Rav Hildesheimer explains:
“If it is still possible to remain ‘Israel’
together with the obligation commanded
to it in the sacred Torah. And if so, only
in this manner is it possible to maintain
peace: if we are prepared at all times and
in every season to fight and to devote our
lives for the fulfillment of the Torah and
the commandment.” A necessary condition
for shalom is devotion to the Torah. Absent
that, peace cannot be a blessing.

III. Truth Before Peace
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888),
also a student of Rav Ettlinger, served as the
rabbi of the independent Orthodox community
in Frankfurt am Main, where he pioneered
a unique ideology of Torah and Derech
Eretz, worldliness. Rav Hirsch was a fierce
advocate of Orthodox independence and
separation from non-Orthodox institutions.
When a non-Orthodox movement dominated
a community’s leadership and infrastructure,
Rav Hirsch demanded Orthodox secession,
austritt. In discussing austritt, Rav Hirsch
explicitly addresses the damage it causes to
unity and peace.
Rav Hirsch writes: “But then, what about
peace within the community, a peace
supposedly endangered by those who would
secede? Is not peace also a sacred value
to the conscience of the Orthodox Jew? Is
not shalom more important to him than any
other consideration? Certainly not! No truly
Orthodox Jew would say such a thing. There
are indeed circumstances under which I may,
and indeed must, give up everything that is
mine for the sake of preserving peace. There
are circumstances under which I may, and
indeed must, give up my property, my legal
claims, and even refrain from making some
injudicious remark in my social relationships,
in order to preserve the peace, or to restore it.
But I cannot restrain myself with what is not
mine but G-d’s, the Divinely uttered truth, the
integrity of my life. My peace with G-d, my
peace with my conscience cannot be for sale.”
(Collected Writings, vol. 6, p. 176)
Rav Hirsch further quotes the verse: “You may
purchase truth, but you must never put it up
for sale” (Prov. 23:23) as a prooftext of the
importance of truth. He points out that in the
verse, “Love truth and peace” (Zech. 8:19),
truth comes first because it must precede peace.
In order to pursue peace within the community,
we must first uphold the theological truths of
the Torah and the behaviors which follow. In
his commentary to the Torah (Num. 25:12),
Rav Hirsch restates Rav Ettlinger’s statement:
“True peace between people is only possible if
they are all at peace with G-d.”
All three of these scholars agree that peace
is important but that it does not override
religious beliefs and obligations. However,
none of them argue that conflict must always
be pursued. They each concede that refined,
expert judgment is necessary before assigning
priorities. We dare not replace “peace at all
costs” with “conflict at all costs.” If we always
fight, we end up with the polarization we
currently experience. If we never fight, we
stand for nothing. Neither approach is correct.
Rather, we must be zealous like Pinchas and
pursue a “covenant of peace” that includes
both peace with G-d and peace with man,
standing up for our principles while pursuing
peace.