📖 Psalm 34:14
"Seek peace and pursue it." Peace is a duty to work at, not something to wait for.
Jewish Beliefs about Peace and Conflict » Shalom: Peace, Pacifism and Passive Resistance in Judaism
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 3.2 (Judaism)
- What shalom means and why peace matters so much to Jews
- Jewish teachings about peace, including Deuteronomy 20:10-12
- How the Jewish Peace Fellowship works for peace today
- Why most Jews are not absolute pacifists, and the Jewish protest against Caligula
🔒 Unlock Full Course Content
Sign up to access the complete lesson and track your progress!
Unlock This CourseShalom: the nature and importance of peace
In Peace, Pacifism, Forgiveness and Reconciliation you met the general idea that peace is more than the absence of war. Judaism has its own word for this: shalom.
Key terms:
- Shalom: the Hebrew word for peace. It also means wholeness, completeness and wellbeing, so a person, a family or a nation can be "in shalom".
- Jewish Peace Fellowship: a Jewish organisation, founded in the USA in 1941, that supports conscientious objectors and works for non-violence.
Shalom is part of everyday Jewish life. Jews greet each other with "Shalom" and say "Shalom aleichem", which means "peace be upon you". Daily prayers, such as the Amidah (the main standing prayer), end with a request for peace. In the Tanakh, Psalm 34:14 tells believers to "seek peace and pursue it". The word pursue matters: peace does not just happen, so Jews are expected to chase it.
Peace is important to Jews for these reasons:
- It means more than silence between enemies. Shalom is a world where people are safe, healthy, fair to each other and whole.
- The Almighty is believed to want a world of shalom, so working for peace is part of living a holy life.
- Jews hope for a future age of peace, which keeps them working for it now.
Jewish teachings about peace
🏰 Deuteronomy 20:10-12
Before attacking a town, the Israelites must first offer it terms of peace. Fighting is not the first step.
The Deuteronomy teaching is part of the Torah. It says that when an army approaches a town to attack it, it must first make an offer of peace. Only if the offer is refused may a siege begin. Jews learn from this that war should come after peace has been tried, never before. This lesson teaches only this duty to offer peace first.
The work of Jews for peace today
The Jewish Peace Fellowship was founded in the USA in 1941. It began to support Jewish conscientious objectors, people who refuse to fight because of their conscience. Many draft boards at the time understood conscientious objection only through Christian teaching, so the Fellowship explained the Jewish basis for it.
Today the Fellowship:
- supports Jews who object to military service;
- produces writing about peacemaking and non-violent action;
- works with other peace groups, as a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Why do its members work for peace? They point to Jewish teachings such as shalom and "seek peace and pursue it", and to the belief that every person is made in the image of the Almighty.
Pacifism and Judaism
You have met pacifism in the shared lesson: absolute pacifism refuses all violence, while conditional pacifism accepts it only in some cases. Pacifism has a long history, and in the two world wars many conscientious objectors refused to fight.
Most Jews are not absolute pacifists. Here is why:
- Saving life comes first. Judaism puts great value on protecting life. The Talmud teaches that a person may stop someone who is coming to kill them. Letting innocent people be killed could break the duty to protect life.
- Self-defence. As you saw in Conflict, Isaiah's Vision of Peace and Just War in Judaism, Jewish history and the Tanakh both allow defence as a last resort.
However, some Jews are pacifists, and groups such as the Jewish Peace Fellowship speak for them. Most Jews who accept self-defence still say that war must be a last resort and peace must be offered first.
Common mistakes
Do not write that "Jews are pacifists" or that "Jews love war". Most Jews accept defence as a last resort but strongly value peace. Do not say shalom only means "hello" or "no war". It also means wholeness.
Passive resistance: the protest against Caligula
In Just War Theory, Holy War and Passive Resistance you learned that passive resistance is non-violent protest. Jewish teaching gives it a firm basis: the Torah forbids images of rulers being worshipped in God's place (Exodus 20:4), and Jews are told to seek peace and pursue it, so protest by refusing, not fighting, fits both. History gives a famous example. It is told by the Jewish historian Josephus.
Example: about 40 CE
The Roman emperor Caligula ordered that a statue of himself be put up in the Temple in Jerusalem. For Jews this broke the command against images (Exodus 20:4) and the rule that only the Almighty is worshipped. Petronius, the Roman governor of Syria, brought troops and craftsmen to the city of Ptolemais to carry out the order. Josephus says huge crowds of Jews came to meet him. They did not fight. They said they would die rather than break their law. Josephus also says farmers left their fields unsown. Petronius delayed and wrote to the emperor, and Caligula was killed in 41 CE. The statue never entered the Temple.
What this shows: a large group can protect its religion by refusing, not by fighting. It also shows that Jewish teachings place the law and the holiness of the Temple above fear of Rome.
Exam-style question
(a) Identify three teachings, words or groups linked to Jewish ideas about peace. [3 marks]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two Jewish teachings about peace. [4 marks]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why most Jews are not absolute pacifists. [6 marks]
(d) 'Jews should always choose peace before war.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
Model answer
(a) 1 Shalom (1). 2 Psalm 34:14, "seek peace and pursue it" (1). 3 The Jewish Peace Fellowship (1).
(b) In Judaism, shalom means peace and wholeness (1), so Jews work for a world where people are safe and complete, not just free from war (1). Deuteronomy 20:10-12 teaches that an army must offer terms of peace before attacking a town (1), which means war should never be the first step (1).
(c) Most Jews accept that violence can be needed in some cases. Judaism puts great value on saving life, so the Talmud teaches that a person may stop someone coming to kill them. This means that refusing all force could allow innocent people to die. Jewish history of persecution also leads many to accept defence as a last resort. Some Jews, however, such as members of the Jewish Peace Fellowship, are pacifists and refuse to fight. (6 marks)
(d) Plan. For: Deuteronomy 20:10-12 says offer peace before a siege; shalom and "seek peace and pursue it" make peace a duty; the Caligula protest shows non-violence can work; the Jewish Peace Fellowship supports non-violence. Against: pikuach nefesh and the right to defend life, so peace cannot be offered if an attack is already coming; history of persecution means defence is vital; some enemies will not accept peace. Contrast: absolute pacifists say force is never right, while a Humanist might judge by outcomes. Conclusion: for most Jews peace should come first, because the teaching is clear, but it is not unconditional once life is in danger.
Exam tip
In the 12-mark question, use the word always in the statement. Show that Deuteronomy supports "peace first", then explain why self-defence means it is not "always" possible. That judgement lifts you into the top levels.