The Path to Wholeness

“All in favor of machlokes, raise their hands,” I told the audience. “Now, all in favor of shalom, wave your hands.” It wasn’t much of a contest.

We’re all in favor of shalom. So why does machlokes trip us up? Why do we find ourselves fighting to bite our lip and not say words we know will lead to bad feelings? Why do we secretly play out scenarios in our mind in which we get back at that guy, or give it to our boss, our mother-in-law, or the person who got my job?

Let’s face it. People fight. Even nice people. Even frum people. In all places, all cultures, all situations.

The Origin of Machlokes

The Maharal, quoted in Nesivos Shalom on Avos, says that the yetzer hara for machlokes overpowers people more than he tempts us in other areas. We see that soon after the creation of man, the first two brothers have a fight that quickly spirals into murder. That didn’t take very long!