Peace in the Fabric of Jewish Law
אמר ר’ יוסה בי רבי בון: בא וראה מה גדול הוא השלום שהוקש לשני דברים שחייבין עליהן כרת (פסחים כג,ב)
Rabbi Yosa the son of Rabbi Bon said: Come see how great peace is that it was connected to two things for which one is liable to extirpation.
The Mishnah in Pesahim 3:8 lists three things side-by-side: Bringing the Paschal offering, circumcising one’s son and eating at one’s father-in-law’s betrothal meal. Rather than disrupting the performance of any of these commandments, one should mentally nullify Hametz that he has come to realize that he has in his house.
“Peace” is not explicitly mentioned in the Mishnah, but Rabbi Yosa sees its embodiment in the attendance of the betrothal feast. Attending a betrothal feast no doubt encourages peaceful relations between people and pacifies any ill-will that people may have against each other.
Rabbi Yosa’s incredible sensitivity to the language of the Mishnah and its mode of expression lead him to understand that by listing the attendance of the betrothal feast with the Paschal sacrifice and Circumcision the Mishnah means to put the former on par with the latter in importance and severity.
The Mishnah itself shows us that peace is woven into the very fabric of Jewish Law and Jewish Life