The search for peace with our hostile neighbors is a prime concern of everyone in Eretz Yisrael. There is another piece of peace which is missing in the lives of so many of us which can be learned from a short chapter in the Torah portion which will be read this week in synagogues everywhere.

Aaron and his descendants were commanded to bestow three blessings on the Children of Israel. The first of these is a blessing for material prosperity. The second, calling for "G-d shining His countenance upon you", is a blessing for spiritual elevation. The third is a blessing for peace, which means harmony between the material and spiritual dimensions of our existence.

In their haste to develop a modern state with a strong military and a solid economy many Israelis have lost this balance between the material and the spiritual. This is evident in many aspects of our society, from the school system to the political one.

Perhaps the time has come for a nation so anxious for peace with its neighbors to do some soul-searching about that other piece of peace, the harmony that must exist between matter and spirit. Once that peace has been achieved we can look forward to Divine help in achieving that other peace for Israel forever.