Shalom; hello, goodbye, peace, complete wholeness—a remarkable word that conveys so much more than just a few letters in two syllables. We have been uttering this word in our prayers for thousands of years, sometimes feeling closer to realizing peace than other times, but unfortunately, shalom always seems just out of reach.
In this week’s eponymous Torah portion Pinchas, God gives Pinchas a brit shalom—a covenant of peace after, at the end of last week’s parsha, Pinchas led a violent purge against wayward Israelites. To me, this seems like an odd reward, but what do I know? Well, it would seem the Torah is just as uncomfortable. In the word shalom, as written in the Torah, the letter “vav” is broken. This broken “vav” begs to be interpreted. What does it mean that this peace is broken? That this notion of wholeness is incomplete? 
How is peace attained? Is it through a bludgeoning stick? Is it through violence? Is it through education and culture shift? Is there such a thing as a shalom shalem, a complete peace? This is the ongoing conversation and the unfortunate reality that, apparently, to turn swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, they had to be forged and wielded as weapons first. May we recognize the role each of us has in creating a true peace, a lasting peace that is not forged in violence, but rather in relationships, community, and growth.