Page 35 - Shalom: The Peace That Comes From Being Whole

It allowed God to begin the process of
reestablishing shalem (םלש) wholeness with
mankind.
One step in the process involved what God
called peace offerings. They are mentioned
many times in the Torah (the first five books
of the Bible).
Ex. 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make
unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt
offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and
thine oxen: in all places where I record my name
I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Here is a commentary from a Hebrew source.
םימלש [Shelamim] Peace-offerings
Peace-offerings are brought voluntarily by a
person or a group of people who are moved to
express their love of God, their gratitude for
His goodness, and to enhance their closeness of
Him. In the words of Sforno (Kavanos HaTo-
rah): The peace-offering is brought as a tribute
to God, Blessed is He, when the person moved
to offer it recognizes the ways of His goodness
and His constant goodness to us...
According to Korban Aharon, the peace ex-
pressed by the name is the harmony between
the heavenly world of the spirit and the earthly
world of materialism. One who brings a
peace-offering seeks to unite the two worlds.
Rambam derives the word םימלש shelamim
from תומלש shlemot wholeness, because the
person who brings this offering has not been
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