Pursuing Truth and Peace

במדרש וישלח ישראל מלאכים אל סיחון

In the Midrash, on the verse "And Yisrael sent messengers to Sichon":

The piece opens by citing the Midrash on the verse where Yisrael sends messengers to Sichon, setting up the discussion of seeking peace.

בטח בה' ועשה טוב כו' בקש שלום ורדפהו בכל המצות אם בא לידך כו' ושלום בקש במקומך ורדפהו חוץ ממקומך כו'

"Trust in Hashem and do good" (Tehillim 37:3), "seek peace and pursue it" (Tehillim 34:15) — that is, with regard to all the mitzvos, if one comes your way, [do it as it presents itself], but with regard to peace, "seek" it within your place and "pursue" it even outside your place.

The Midrash distinguishes the ordinary mitzvos, which one fulfills as the opportunity presents itself, from peace, which one must actively chase even beyond one's own place.

כי מצינו רדיפה בשני דברים באמת ושלום

For we find that pursuit is commanded with respect to two things — with respect to emes (truth) and with respect to shalom (peace).

The Sfas Emes notes that the Torah commands active "pursuit" in only two areas, emes and shalom, signaling that these are uniquely difficult to attain.

צדק תרדוף בקש שלום ורדפהו

"Justice, justice you shall pursue" (Devarim 16:20), and "seek peace and pursue it" (Tehillim 34:15).

He cites the two verses that command pursuit — pursuing justice (emes) and pursuing peace (shalom).

כי ב' דברים אלו הם היפוך מעוה"ז כמ"ש אמת ושלום אמרו אל יברא דכולא שקרים דכולא קטטה

For these two things are the very opposite of this world, as our Sages said: when Hashem came to create Adam, Emes said "let him not be created, for he is all falsehood," and Shalom said "let him not be created, for he is all strife."

Emes and shalom are the opposite of the nature of this world, since at creation these very attributes objected that man is all falsehood and all strife.

ואין דברים אלו בנמצא בעלמא דשקרא

And these two things — emes and shalom — are not to be found in the world of falsehood (this lowly world).

Because the world below is a realm of falsehood, emes and shalom are not naturally found within it.

לכן צריכין רדיפה להשיג סייעתא דשמיא כמו שזכו בנ"י אל תורת אמת מן השמים

Therefore one must pursue them in order to attain Heavenly assistance (siyata diShmaya), just as Bnei Yisrael merited the Torah of emes from Heaven.

Since they cannot be found naturally, one must actively pursue them and thereby earn the Heavenly help that grants them, just as Bnei Yisrael received the Torah of truth from Above.

כמ"ש ה' עוז לעמו יתן כו' יברך את עמו בשלום

As it is written, "Hashem will give strength to His people, Hashem will bless His people with peace" (Tehillim 29:11).

The verse proves that Hashem grants these gifts from Heaven, giving His people strength and blessing them with peace.

ומרע"ה הי' בחי' אמת בכל ביתי נאמן והוריד תורה מן השמים

And Moshe Rabbeinu was the aspect of emes, of whom it is said "in all My house he is trusted" (Bamidbar 12:7), and he brought the Torah down from Heaven.

Moshe Rabbeinu embodied emes, being the faithful one of Hashem's house, and it was through him that the Torah of truth descended.

ואהרן בחי' שלום

And Aharon was the aspect of shalom.

Aharon, by contrast, embodied the attribute of shalom, the second of the two things that require pursuit.

ואל השלום זכו בנ"י בזכות המדבר שהוא חוץ מן הישוב זהו רדפהו חוץ ממקומך

And Bnei Yisrael merited this peace through the merit of the wilderness, which is outside the settled, inhabited land — this is the meaning of "pursue it outside your place."

Bnei Yisrael earned peace by entering the wilderness, a place outside settled civilization, which fulfills the directive to pursue peace outside one's own place.

ולפי שבטחו בה' ונמשכו אחריו במדבר זכו אל בחי' השלום

And because they trusted in Hashem and followed after Him into the wilderness, they merited the aspect of shalom.

Their bitachon in following Hashem into the desert was the very act of pursuit that brought them the gift of shalom.

ולכן נקראו בנ"י השולמית

And therefore Bnei Yisrael are called "the Shulamis" (the peaceful one).

Because of this acquired peace, Bnei Yisrael are given the name "the Shulamis," the people of peace.

וכ' אני שלום

And it is written, "I am peace" (Tehillim 120:7).

The verse "I am peace" further identifies Bnei Yisrael with the quality of shalom.

ולפי שיש לבנ"י בחי' השלום הי' בכחם לקרב כל האומות אל השי"ת

And because Bnei Yisrael possess the aspect of shalom, it was within their power to bring all the nations close to Hashem Yisbarach.

Possessing genuine shalom gave Bnei Yisrael the spiritual capacity to draw even the gentile nations close to Hashem.

אבל המה קשי עורף ולא רצו להתקרב

But they (the nations) were stiff-necked and did not wish to draw close.

The nations, however, were stubborn and refused to be drawn near, frustrating that potential.

וז"ש ואשלח מלאכים ממדבר קדמות ע"ש במד' ורש"י

And this is the meaning of "And I sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemos" (Devarim 2:26) — see there in the Midrash and Rashi.

This explains why Moshe sent messengers of peace from the Wilderness of Kedemos — an overture rooted in the peace Bnei Yisrael carried.

שבכח זה השלימות שהמשיכו בנ"י הי' בכחם לקרב ושלחו דברי שלום

For through the power of this wholeness (shleimus) which Bnei Yisrael drew down, it was within their power to bring others close, and so they sent words of peace.

The wholeness that Bnei Yisrael had drawn down empowered them to extend genuine words of peace to others.

והרשעים מיאנו בדבר

But the wicked ones refused the matter.

Yet the wicked nations rejected these peaceful overtures outright.

וכמו כן איתא וישמע הכנעני שמע שמת אהרן ונסתלקו ענני הכבוד וסבר ניתן רשות להלחם בישראל

And similarly it is taught, "And the Canaanite heard" (Bamidbar 21:1) — he heard that Aharon had died and the Clouds of Glory had departed, and he supposed that permission had been granted to wage war against Yisrael.

The same pattern appears with the Canaanite, who, hearing of Aharon's death and the departure of the Clouds of Glory, assumed it was license to attack rather than an opening to draw near.

והכל ללמד על רשעת הגוים

And all of this comes to teach us about the wickedness of the nations.

All these episodes serve to expose the underlying wickedness of the nations.

כי כאשר נתגלו בנ"י

For when Bnei Yisrael were revealed [as without the protective Clouds],

When the protective Clouds departed and Bnei Yisrael stood exposed, this revelation was itself a kind of opening.

אם היו חפצים להתקרב הי' להם לחשוב שניתן רשות שיתקרבו

had the nations desired to draw close, they should have reasoned that permission had now been granted for them to come near.

Had the nations been good-hearted, they would have interpreted the moment as permission to come close to Bnei Yisrael and to Hashem.

והם חשבו הכל לרעה ולכן מוטב לרשעים שיהיו סומין כמ"ש במד' בלק:

But they construed everything for the worse, and therefore it is better for the wicked that they be blind, as it says in the Midrash on Balak.

Instead they read everything for the worse, which is why the Midrash on Balak teaches it is better for the wicked to be blind, since their sight only fuels their evil.

Summary: In this piece the Sfas Emes explains why the Torah commands active "pursuit" only for emes and shalom: these two qualities run contrary to the nature of this lowly world of falsehood and strife, and so can be attained only by chasing after them and earning siyata diShmaya. Bnei Yisrael embodied both — emes through Moshe Rabbeinu, who brought down the Torah of truth, and shalom through Aharon and through their bitachon in following Hashem into the wilderness, which is why they are called "the Shulamis," the people of peace. This acquired shalom gave them the power to draw even the gentile nations close to Hashem, which is why they sent words of peace to Sichon from the Wilderness of Kedemos. But the nations were stiff-necked and refused, just as the Canaanite, upon hearing of Aharon's death and the departure of the Clouds of Glory, took the moment as license to attack rather than as an opening to come near. The whole episode exposes the wickedness of the nations, who construe every revelation for the worse — and thus, as the Midrash on Balak teaches, it is better for such wicked ones to be blind.