Pursuing Peace: An Invitation A Summer Lunch & Learn in Memory of Rabbi Myron Kinberg, ז״ל
- Congregation Kol Ami
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Midweek Torah Study with Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg
Wednesdays • Noon–1:00 PM
“Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta said: The Holy One, blessed be God, found no vessel capable of holding blessing for Israel except peace.”
— Mishnah Uktzin 3:12
The Mishnah, the foundational collection of Jewish law and wisdom compiled nearly two thousand years ago, concludes in a remarkable place.
After six orders, sixty-three tractates, and thousands of teachings about ritual, ethics, justice, purity, and community, the final words of the entire Mishnah are not about law at all. They focus on peace.
“The Holy One, blessed be God, found no vessel capable of holding blessing for Israel except peace.”
Our sages could have finished with holiness. They could have ended with Torah itself. Instead, they chose shalom.
Why?
Because peace is not just one Jewish value among many; peace is the vessel that allows every other blessing to endure. Without peace, justice cannot flourish. Without peace, compassion cannot take root. Without peace, communities fracture, and the Divine image within every human being becomes obscured.
The Hebrew word shalom means much more than the absence of war. It signifies wholeness, completeness, healing, integration, reconciliation, and harmony. It originates from the Hebrew root ש־ל־ם, “to be whole.”
Peace is not passive.
Peace is sacred work.
It involves the lifelong effort of repairing what has been broken until individuals, communities, and ultimately the world once again reflect the Oneness of God.
As the prophet Isaiah envisioned:
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
— Isaiah 2:4
This year, those ancient words feel especially urgent.
This spring marked the thirtieth yahrzeit of my father, Rabbi Myron Kinberg, ז״ל.
My father died before he ever saw me become a rabbi.
Today, I have lived longer than he did, and I have now served as a rabbi for more years than he was given.
That reality has changed me.
There is a bench dedicated to my parents that describes my father as an איש רודף שלום (ish rodef shalom)—a pursuer of peace.
No words describe him more faithfully.
Rabbi Myron Kinberg dedicated his rabbinate to building bridges where others built walls. He championed civil rights, interfaith understanding, and the sacred dignity of every human being. Long before it became common-or comfortable-he worked tirelessly to foster understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. He believed that Israel’s security and Palestinian dignity were not conflicting moral claims but sacred obligations rooted in the Jewish conviction that every human is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God.
He also believed that a rabbi’s role was not only to comfort the comfortable but to challenge the community to live more deeply according to Torah’s highest ideals. His work often required courage. At times, it came at great personal cost. Yet he never stopped believing that Judaism’s deepest calling was not just to survive but to become a blessing to the world.
Today, perhaps more than ever, I yearn for his voice.
Our world seems increasingly fractured. Israel and Palestine remain trapped in cycles of grief and violence. Antisemitism is rising worldwide. Public discourse favors outrage over understanding, certainty over humility, and enemies over neighbors.
It’s tempting to think that power alone will save us.
Judaism offers an alternative vision.
The deepest display of Divine power is not domination.
It is not violence.
It is not It military victory.
The deepest expression of Divine power is shalom-the healing, integration, and reconciliation of all that has been broken.
God appears not only in moments of awe but whenever enemies become neighbors, strangers turn into friends, justice and compassion embrace, and broken lives begin to heal.
The Jewish mystics taught that beneath the apparent divisions of our world lies an essential Oneness. Every person bears the Divine image. Every soul is connected to every other. Every act of compassion, reconciliation, and justice restores more of the world’s wholeness.
Peace is not weakness.
Peace is among the highest forms of spiritual courage.
It demands we reject despair.
Resist hatred.
Choose relationship over fear.
Believe that God’s dream for humanity surpasses humanity’s capacity for violence.
That’s probably why the Mishnah ends where it does.
After thousands of pages of debate, law, ritual, ethics, and theology, our sages leave us with one final truth:
Without peace, there is no vessel capable of holding God’s blessing.
This summer, I invite you to seek that blessing with me.
Together we will study Torah, prophets, rabbinic wisdom, Jewish philosophy, Hasidic teachings, modern Jewish voices, and contemporary questions as we explore Judaism’s vision of peace-not as naive idealism or conflict avoidance, but as sacred responsibility.
Together we will ask:
What does Judaism truly teach about peace?
What does it mean to seek peace without forsaking justice?
How do we reconcile with those we fear?
What spiritual discipline does peacemaking require?
How can we become people who not only pray for peace but embody it?
Because if the Mishnah is correct-if peace is the vessel that holds every blessing-then there may be no more vital Torah for us to study today.
Summer Schedule
July 1
Introduction: Why Pursue Peace?
July 8
Shalom: More Than the Absence of War
Examining the rich meaning of shalom in Jewish tradition.
July 15
“Seek Peace and Pursue It”
What Judaism demands of peacemakers.
July 22
Aaron the Peacemaker
Conflict resolution and reconciliation in Jewish tradition.
July 29
The Prophets’ Vision of Peace
Isaiah, Micah, and the dream of a redeemed world.
For My Father, Rabbi Myron Kinberg, ז״ל
May his memory continue to inspire us to be what our tradition asks:
“Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving all people and bringing them close to Torah.”
— Pirkei Avot 1:12
May we become lovers of peace.
May we become pursuers of peace.
May we help heal what is broken.
And may we help build a world worthy of God’s greatest blessing.
יהי זכרו ברוך.
May his memory forever be a blessing.
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