Ani Shalom – I am peace – אֲֽנִי־שָׁ֭לוֹם

Too long have I dwelt with those who hate peace.
I am all peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war.

Psalm 120:6-7

I am not a pacifist.

There are many definitions of pacifist, including:

A person who opposes war or violence as a means of settling disputes.
A person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable.

Up until now, I hadn’t thought about whether I would classify myself as or be considered a pacifist. The short answer is ‘no”. During the wars I’ve lived through or for those I know from recent or ancient history, I can say that some of the wars and violence pursued were justified. Others were not, or were pursued in ways that were not justified, or for objectives that were not justified, or were pursued without trying other means, or were just stupid or evil.

But I am for peace. Peace should never be a secondary or tertiary objective once the other objectives have been achieved or not, once all the destructive and deadly means have been tried. Peace should have co-equal status at the top of the list.

During the ongoing war in Gaza, I’ve discovered that all the divergent thinking and rhetoric, from me and so many others, from just plain folks up to world leaders, is having little effect on the course of hostilities. Wars are about action, well-chosen or ill-chosen, and stubborn actors convinced of their rightness can be deaf.

Then I realized that if I am going to be using my words to little practical effect, I might as well use them to promote the possibility of peace.

Which is how I came to find a verse in Psalm 120. The standout Hebrew phrase is “Ani shalom”, literally the words are “I” and “peace”. Lacking a verb, it is variously translated as “I am peace”, “I am all peace”, “I am for peace”.

I am peace and I hope you are too.

רַ֭בַּת שָֽׁכְנָה־לָּ֣הּ נַפְשִׁ֑י עִ֝֗ם שׂוֹנֵ֥א שָׁלֽוֹם׃
אֲֽנִי־שָׁ֭לוֹם וְכִ֣י אֲדַבֵּ֑ר הֵ֝֗מָּה לַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃

Rabat shachna la nafshi
Ani shalom v’chi adaber hama lamilchama

Too long have I dwelt with those who hate peace.
I am all peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war.

Psalm 120:6-7