Be kind, rewind
Chapter 1, Mishnah 12
הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה:
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.
L: We already discussed Aaron, so let’s see what Bunim has to say about him and his pursuit of peace:
Aaron, the cohen godol, not only loved peace but actively pursued it, bringing it into existence where it had not existed before. For example, if Reuben and Simeon were not on talking terms, Aaron would approach Reuben and say, “Do you know, I met Simeon the other night. He is truly sorry that he angered you. He feels very badly about the situation. He would like to make amends, but he fears that you would not accept his hand in friendship.
Having sown a seed, Aaron went on to Simeon and told him the same story about Reuben.
The next day, when Reuben and Simeon happened to meet, each simultaneously offered his hand in friendship, and lo, peace was achieved.
There are many who love peace, but how many are truly disciples of Aaron, willing to make such efforts on its behalf?
Aaron didn’t just stumble onto peace; he took action to create peace. Does this notion resonate with you?
H: What do you mean? In what respect?
L: Well, I found this Mishnah – at least on the surface – making a Mother-and-Apple-Pie statement. Who could argue with it? If it’s so basic a concept, so straightforward, why insert it here in Pirkei Avot?
H: It’s probably true that most of us don’t do this, don’t take action to seek peace. Aaron was exemplary in this respect. He was inviting many others to follow in his footsteps…and, maybe many of them did not. But, still, that was Aaron’s ultimate goal – to seek peace.
L: What does it take to become an “Aaron”? How do we teach our grandchildren this way of life. We can say “Love and pursue peace” over and over again. It doesn’t mean that our grandchildren will get it.
H: Yes, that’s a difficult goal. And, you have to appreciate the fact that most people won’t pursue peace, as actively as Aaron intended. That said, you need to set an example. Maybe for other people in today’s world who live that kind of life. It’s up to the rest of us to try to emulate that [kind of behavior].
L: So, you’re suggesting that we should tell our children stories of people who have set such examples.
H: Correct.
L: I see. You are saying that we may not want to hold ourselves us as examples, since that would be considered immodest. Too often I read newspapers, and I shake my head. And I think that “this guy is simply seeking fame or money. This guy wants more followers on Instagram, and so on.” For these people this is not a means to an end. It is the end…the fame, the fortune. They wanted credit for one thing or another. Now, in Aaron’s case, he didn’t even want credit for the pursuit of peace.
H: Correct.
L: So, how do we tell our children or grandchildren to pursue peace?
H: By telling them events that occurred of Aaron, going all the way back, and by telling them stories of others in our time who are Ohav Shalom [lovers of peace].
L: If the world could come to peace with itself, can you imagine what we could accomplish in society?
H: Oh, yeah!
L: In a way, every action Aaron took [to pursue peace] was a like a placing a brick in that wall. I think that peace is among the most difficult tasks to achieve.
H: You’re right.
L: There’s a lot of uncertainty out there. It’s jarring. That space called “peace”, given uncertain conditions in the world, is a difficult place to occupy...just a thought. When we speak to our children, we should tell them that trying to achieve peace is a tough thing to do.
H: We should be giving them credit for even trying to do it.
L: Peace itself is a challenging concept for young child to comprehend. How can you get a young child who may have had a rough day on the playground – where he or she may have had a fight with another classmate - to appreciate peace?
H: Someone may have to step in and approach each one of the kids and tell them what is good about each of them. Not just focus on the specific event that may have lead up to the disagreement, or the argument, or the fight.
L: You are suggesting that you try to roll back the tape for each party, to the point before the incident occurred…
H: And point out to each one what things were like before this event happened. Remind them that they were friends. So, try to go back to that state and look through or past the event that caused this rift.
L: The Mishnah is in effect saying in order to pursue peace, rewind the tape.
H: Yes!