This week's portion, Naso, includes the priestly blessing, which concludes with, "[May God] give you peace", and notes that God allows His Name to be erased for the sake of peace between husband and wife.
Peace is of paramount importance in Judaism. As the psalmist says: "Bakesh shalom verodfehu -- Seek peace and pursue it." [Ps 34:15]
In the Kaddish, we ask God two things:
Yehe shlama rabba min shemaya, ve-hayyim. -- May God grant abundant peace from heaven, and life.
Life is second to peace, and almost an afterthought.
But how far are we supposed to go in the pursuit of peace? It always struck me that Dayenu, which we sing at the seder table, begins with "If God had freed us from Egypt but had not, [etc.], it would have been enough." One would think there should be a line before that one saying, "If God had kept us alive but had not freed us from Egypt, it would have been enough." But that line is not there! Is Dayenu telling us implicitly "Give me liberty or give me death."?
In the three ancient revolts against foreign invaders (Greeks in the first case, Romans in the other two), the rabbis counseled against revolting. But that was due to their estimate of our chances for success, not their concern about keeping the peace.
So, does Judaism say "Give me liberty or give me death."? How far must we go in the pursuit of peace? Is this discussed anywhere?
