Commandments Of Peace Essay

The commandments of peace in the Jewish religion tradition stand as a fraction of their principal teachings regarding the concept of peace. As a result of the requirement for Jewish adherent to adhere to and imitate the righteous and compassionate nature of God, peace remains an aspect of spiritual life that is highly sought after at all times. This is also the case as it is also one of the 613 mitzvot which adherents are required to follow demonstrates the need to “walk in his ways” (Deuteronomy 28:9) as he who adheres to God’s example will be “holy, for I the lord god am holy” (Leviticus 19:18). The religion of Judaism also educated the concept of peace to be one of most fundamental teaching in all the scripts as according to the Rabbi Akiva …show more content…
The Jewish religion appreciates two situations where permissibility of war is taught, the first of which being obligatory war. Obligatory war refers to commandments to take actions such as those experienced in the biblical era or a defensive war, which is to be undertaken if the nation is under threat. The second permissible war as stated by the prophetic vision is discretionary war, which refers to a fight to enlarge the borders of the nation of Israel in order to ensure its survival, however this war is only permitted following an intense session of debate. Despite permitting obligatory and discretionary war, Deuteronomy demonstrates an adamancy that all avenues of peace must be first explored and exhausted before war is declared, “If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city”. Also, although war may be applicable in extreme circumstances the prophetic vision also declares that civilians and non-combatants must be given the opportunity to escape the fighting as demonstrated in Joshua’s letters to the land of Israel in Kingship 6:5. Therefore demonstrating that although peace is a primal concept the prophetic vision there remain extreme instances where war stands as a tolerable