The Letter Shin - A Symbol of Peace and Completeness

The letter Shin has three teeth, suggesting the force of disruption needed to establish peace. Peace is only achieved when each side compromises by giving up part of its will for the other. Typically, this result is achieved through a third-party mediator, who 'breaks' and compromises from both sides to bring peace and completeness, as was the way of Aaron, the lover and pursuer of peace. Hence, the letter Shin has two extreme lines representing opposing forces and a middle line that mediates.

On a deeper level, the main principle in the task of character improvement is achieving the right balance in every trait by breaking extremism to one side. For example, a person who works hard to break their extreme tendency toward stinginess, which corresponds to the trait of judgment—wanting everything for oneself; or who works to break the extreme tendency toward extravagance, which corresponds to the trait of kindness—giving of oneself limitlessly to others; and succeeds in reaching the appropriate middle path, which corresponds to the trait of beauty, being neither stingy nor extravagant, but generous. In this way, a person achieves the right balance in their traits. As it is said in Ethics of the Fathers: 'Which is the right path that a person should choose? One that honors himself and honors others.'

This principle is hinted at in the arch shape at the bottom part of the letter Shin, the side connecting the three branches. Just as the colorful appearance of the rainbow is produced by rain (water, kindness) breaking rays of the sun (fire, power) shining upon them into three primary colors: red (power), blue (kindness), and yellow (beauty), so should a person use the actions of their physical body (rain) in this world to break and split the illumination emerging from their varied soul traits (sun rays), separating good and undesirable together, eliminating the bad from each and adopting only the good. Thus, reaching the right balance and proper behavior in each trait at the right measure, by harnessing all to the service of Hashem. See earlier in chapter Gimel the golden words of Maimonides defining the right balance in character improvement and the way to achieve it.

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Someone who achieves such a wonderful balance in their soul traits by breaking any deviation from the right path finds pure and true peace among all parts and types of their traits. They bow their head in gracious humility before the will of their Creator, reaching the completeness of their status as a person. In this person, the material 'I' is not felt, as they cleave to Hashem with love. Upon reaching the love for their Creator, no one is happier or more delighted on earth. For there is no joy like the joy of a lover in their beloved. Here is the guidance of 'Pele Yoetz' in the ways of attaining happiness:

All emotions entrusted to the heart need the heart's help to be felt. For if a person is told, 'Do not fear!' and they are afraid, they cannot not fear. Likewise, 'Do not be sad!' and they are sad, 'Be happy!' and they are not happy—they cannot do the opposite of what their heart desires. But a person's intellect can transform their heart and guide it to the place they wish, through positive thoughts on a frequent basis. And even though the actions, positive or negative, that they have done throughout their life influence their feelings from the depths of their soul, nevertheless, it is within every person's ability to use positive thoughts—which even if they do not do all the work, will do at least half—through positive and recurring feelings of joy, like 'running and returning.' And the more one strives to achieve the merit of happiness, the greater their reward, and to one who wishes to purify themselves, they assist.

The living should consider how much joy they would feel at a great financial gain. They should reflect that any sum in the world is as nothing compared to life, and how much joy they would feel if they were saved from death to life, for 'all that a man has he will give for his life.' They should continue to reflect that all life in this world is vanity compared to life in the world to come. For our sages taught: 'One hour of tranquility in the world to come is better than all the life of this world.' And all life in the world to come is not considered compared to doing the will of the Creator. For 'one hour of Torah and good deeds in this world is better than the entire life of the world to come.' And if they would rejoice in finding great spoils, how much more so should they rejoice many times over in Torah and serving Hashem and fulfilling His commandments.

See there also all of his wonderful words (summarized here with language adaptation). And if so in the love of a person for another person—as the love of a man for his wife and the love of a parent for their children, how much more so in the love of the finite creation for their infinite Creator. This person is always joyful and rejoiced in their heart, and all their desire is to make the mighty beloved—Creator and King of the world—rejoice. Although they appear to walk in their body like an ordinary person, inwardly, in their heart, they feel the joy of youth as if they fly with the wind, blending with creation, bursting into a song of praise with their Creator. This precious person is also hinted at in the letter Shin, when they spread their hands in aspiration upward. The head in the middle is the person, and their hands extended in loving yearning for their Creator.

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Thus, the letter of disruption, Shin, which is also the letter of peace as explained, is also the letter of completeness. Thus, the word "shalom" (peace) begins with the letter Shin, because human completeness is achieved by breaking and removing the negative and superfluous. A similar principle exists in circumcision: As long as the foreskin is not removed from the body, the person is incomplete. This can be likened to a food package with a plastic strip attached to the lid that does not allow it to be opened. As long as this strip is attached to it, it feels like a solid block with no tool to use. Only the disconnection and removal of the strip allows opening, and only then the package is fit for use and becomes a 'vessel' worthy of its name. Likewise, only with the circumcision and removal of the foreskin does a person become whole in their body.

Circumcision - completing the person

"An incident where Turnus Rufus the Wicked asked Rabbi Akiva: Which actions are more beautiful, those of Hashem or those of flesh and blood? Rabbi Akiva answered him: The actions of flesh and blood are more beautiful.

Turnus Rufus said to him: Behold the heavens and the earth; can a person create anything like them? Rabbi Akiva replied: Do not speak to me about a matter that is above the creatures and beyond their reach, but rather speak of matters found among humans.

He said to him: Why do you circumcise?

Rabbi Akiva said to him: I knew you would ask me this, and so I preempted and said to you that the actions of people are more beautiful than those of Hashem. Rabbi Akiva brought him ears of grain and cakes, and said to him: These are the actions of Hashem, and these are the actions of human hands. Are not the cakes more beautiful than the ears of grain?

Turnus Rufus asked him: If Hashem desires circumcision, why does a child not come out circumcised from its mother's womb? Rabbi Akiva said to him: Why is the umbilical cord attached to the newborn, needing to be cut by its mother? And what you ask, why it does not come out circumcised—because Hashem did not give the commandments to Israel except to refine them through them [i.e., created them in a way that they would bring themselves to the completeness suited to them by refining and purifying themselves]. Therefore David said, 'Hashem's word is pure.'

The breaking that leads to completeness is true not only for the individual but for the entire world as well. The breaking and grinding of evil and wickedness in the world is indeed the rectification of the world and bringing it to its intended completeness. Therefore it is said about the era of the Messiah when the world will be corrected: "You shattered the teeth of the wicked." Considering the letters R' (wicked) and Sh' (breaking). Then true peace will reign in the world, as it is written about the period after the breaking of the wicked in the War of Gog and Magog: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

And this is the completeness (Sh') of the elevation of the righteous (Tz') who sanctified themselves (K') and became the head (R'): to see the world when true peace (Sh') reigns between all nations under the kingdom of Hashem, and creation reaches its purpose (T'), when the verse will be fulfilled: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea."

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