418. Peace (1)

It says in the verse “Seek peace and chase after it!”, and in the Mishnah it also says “Be amongst the followers of Aharon; Love peace and pursue peace!”, and many sayings of Chazal in the Talmud and Midrash will testify and tell how great peace is and how hated is dispute. Chazal did not discuss one who has not been tested in this way, but rather they spoke specifically about someone who is being chased by dispute and nevertheless flees from it. Such a person may be called a “person who loves peace and chases after peace” and his deeds will be praised in the gates. If one will say to a man who enjoys quarrels and disputes, “Surely you know and must have heard how great is peace and how hated is dispute?”, he will answer and say “I know, but who can hold himself back and stay peacefully together with these people who are constantly making me angry?”. In such a case you should answer him that if this matter would be simple Hashem would not have set aside so much reward for it, but in direct proportion to the level of difficulty and pain, so too is the reward. It is comparable to one who is sent a message from heaven that if he will remain in peace with so-and-so, he will merit to live for a thousand years, whereas if he quarrels with him, he will die immediately, in which case there is no shadow of a doubt that he will be able to make peace easily with the person who is annoying him so that he will gain the tremendous advantages of living a thousand years, and not to die immediately. How much more so does a person need to strengthen himself not to die an eternal death and to remember the reward in the next world as one hour of pleasure in the next world is better than the entire life in this world. How much more so must he do this in order to cause pleasure to his Creator and not to anger his Creator.