d’var torah
Do You Believe in Miracles?
BY RABBI GERI NEWBURGE
O Parshat Tzav
ur tradition teaches that
yes, we do (or maybe that
we should)! For instance, the
splitting of the Red Sea and the daily
manna from heaven were miracles;
even the proper functioning of our
bodily systems is considered a miracle,
and a blessing is recited for that every
day. One aspect of this week’s Torah por-
tion, Tzav, from the book of Leviticus,
off ers additional insight into the mir-
acles we experience. While most of
the laws of the various sacrifi ces are
detailed in Vayikra, last week’s portion,
Tzav spotlights the laws of the zevach
shlamim, the peace off ering.

When the zevach shlamim is fi rst
presented in the parsha, the great sage
Rashi teaches that this particular sacri-
fi ce is off ered to give thanks to the Holy
One for a personal miracle. Such mir-
acles include making a sea voyage and
returning safely, surviving a journey
through the desert, being imprisoned
and then released, or recovering from
an illness. Today, we recite the blessing
known as Birkat HaGomel when expe-
riencing such extraordinary events.

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Yet, in many other rabbinic texts, a
miracle is not required to proff er the
zevach shlamim. It should come as no
surprise that peace is considered the
ideal state of aff airs in Jewish tradition.

In fact, the rabbis in Leviticus Rabbah
9:9 claim all blessings are contained
within peace, and they point out sev-
eral instances in the Torah when some-
one speaks misleadingly in order for
people to live in peace.

Th e Hebrew word shalom has a range
of meanings. We teach our religious
school students it translates as “hello,”
“goodbye” and “peace,” yet that fails
to convey the depth of the word. Th e
word shalom is found more than 200
times in the Hebrew bible and encom-
passes a diversity of meanings, includ-
ing peaceable agreements or accord
between individuals (family members
or leaders) as well as nations, and the
rabbis off er numerous midrashim on
many of these occurrences.

Th e miracle of peace is a virtue
ingrained in Jewish practice and ritual.

Every service, weekday, Shabbat and
festival, includes prayers for peace; we
recite them at the end of the Amidah,
aft er Silent Prayer, when we conclude
the Mourner’s Kaddish, a prayer we
utter when we are most bereft , asking
God to make peace descend upon us,
and the most beautiful blessing of all,
the Priestly Benediction, is ultimately
one of peace.

Shalom is also about wholeness,
completeness. Perhaps the rabbis were
onto something when they taught, “Th e
world is maintained by three things, by
justice, by truth and by peace.” Rav
Muna added, “Th ese three actually are
one. If justice is present then truth is
present, and this makes peace. And all
three are found in the same verse, as
it is written, ‘Judge with the justice of
truth and peace within your gates.’” In
other words, peace, in and of itself, is
not possible without an ethical society.

Our sages teach us that there must be
justice to experience peace.

It is impossible to ignore the signif-
icance of this particular off ering our
ancestors made and what it represents,
either in thanksgiving or in fulfi llment
of a vow or donation. We are living
through unprecedented and terrifying
times. As I write this piece, Russia
instigated a war with Ukraine, its pres-
ident a targeted man, its citizens living
under a 5 p.m. curfew, hundreds of
thousands of citizens having fl ed or are
fl eeing, and hundreds of innocent lives
have been lost.

Th e Israelites were instructed to
bring the sacrifi ces “near” to God. Th ey
are meant to draw us closer to God and
to that which is sacred and, in the case
of the zevach shlamim, to peace. We
have an active role in bringing about
peace, with each other and with God.

Finding that path was not easy for
our ancestors, nor will it be easy for us.

We will need to advocate for Ukraine
politically and with social services and
extend fi nancial and other support to
the refugees and the survivors to live
up to the ideals ingrained in our tra-
dition. Perhaps the zevach shlamim, peace
off ering, is the greatest miracle of all.

May the people of Ukraine, and all
those living in fear and with illness, be
granted this miracle. May we carry on
the sacred work of our ancestors, ded-
icating ourselves to peace and whole-
ness for children, grandchildren and
the generations to come. JE
Rabbi Geri Newburge serves at Main
Line Reform Temple-Beth Elohim in
Wynnewood. The Board of Rabbis of
Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide
diverse perspectives on Torah commentary
for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions
expressed in this column are the author’s
own and do not refl ect the view of the
Board of Rabbis.