This week we read Parshat Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32). In this Torah portion a dispute erupts among the Jewish people when Korach accuses Moses of corruption and he starts a rebellion. The Rabbis understand that Korach and his cohorts create this dispute not for the sake of Heaven or bettering the community, but due to jealousy. This dispute is counterproductive to the Jewish people’s growing community. Eventually, G-d destroys Korach and his cohorts by opening up the earth and swallowing them.
Judaism regards disputing, for reasons other than to fulfill the meaning of Torah or to grow community, as a grave sin because it contradicts the essential unity of G-d. Today, we spend too much time, energy and resources, disputing with one another for the wrong reasons. Whether it is between individuals, groups or organizations, the act of arguing is only productive when the intention is to make our community complete.
Dispute should not be mistaken for well-intentioned controversy. Any student of the Talmud knows that the schools of Hillel and Shamai always took part in disputes for the purpose of teaching and ultimately reaching a common understanding. The Talmud states that “no two faces are alike, likewise no two opinions are exactly alike.”
In contrast to the sin of disputing for the wrong reasons, peace is the most central theme of Judaism. The word shalom is derived from the root shalem, which means whole or complete. Peace is not merely the absence of war. Rather it is the cooperative and symbiotic relationship where parties assist one another, genuinely care for each other and ultimately complete each other. The word shalom is also found in our most popular prayers and in our Talmud. The amidah prayer ends with shalom, as does the grace after meals (birkat hamazon) and the priestly blessing (birkat kohanim). The entire Talmud even ends with the word shalom.
As I begin my term as your Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, I hope to create an environment where we dispute only with the purpose of fulfilling our Federation’s mission of “Enriching Jewish Lives Everywhere” and we create a true community of peace. A community where working together allows us all to achieve our common goal of a united community.
Remember, as Aristotle stated, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Shabbat Shalom,
Debbie Gober
Jewish Federation of Broward County 