Shalom
Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace and can be used idiomatically to mean hello and goodbye.
As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities, or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals. The word shalom is also found in many other expressions and names. Its equivalent cognate in Arabic is salaam, sliem in Maltese, Shlama in Neo-Aramaic dialects, and sälam in Ethiopian Semitic languages from the Proto-Semitic root Š-L-M.
Etymology
In Hebrew, words are built on "roots", generally of three consonants. When the root consonants appear with various vowels and additional letters, a variety of words, often with some relation in meaning, can be formed from a single root. Thus from the root sh-l-m come the words shalom, hishtalem, shulam, meshulam, mushlam, and shalem.Biblically, shalom is seen in reference to the well-being of others, to treaties, and in prayer for the wellbeing of cities or nations.
The meaning of completeness, central to the term shalom, can also be confirmed in related terms found in other Semitic languages. The Assyrian term salamu means to be complete, unharmed, paid/atoned. Sulmu, another Assyrian term, means welfare. A closer relation to the idea of shalom as a concept and action is seen in the Arabic root salaam, meaning, among other things, to be safe, secure and forgiven.
In expressions
The word "shalom" can be used for all parts of speech; as a noun, adjective, verb, adverb, and interjection. It categorizes all shaloms. The word shalom is used in a variety of expressions and contexts in Hebrew speech and writing:- Shalom by itself is a very common abbreviation and it is used in Modern Israeli Hebrew as a greeting and farewell. In this way, it is similar to the Hawaiian aloha, the Korean annyeong, the Persian dorud, the Indian namaste, the Italian ciao and the Vietnamese chào.
- Shalom aleichem, this expression is used to greet others and is a Hebrew equivalent of "hello". The appropriate response to such a greeting is "upon you be well-being". This is a cognate of the Arabic assalamu alaikum. On the eve of Shabbat, Jews have a custom of singing a song which is called Shalom Alecheim, before the Kiddush over wine of the Shabbat dinner is recited.
- * In the Gospels, Jesus often uses the greeting "Peace be unto you", a translation of shalom aleichem. See Pax .
- Shabbat shalom is a common greeting used on Shabbat. This is most prominent in areas with Mizrahi, Sephardi, or modern Israeli influence. Many Ashkenazi communities in the Jewish diaspora use Yiddish Gut shabbes in preference or interchangeably.
- Ma sh'lom'cha is a Hebrew equivalent of the English "how are you?".
- Honorifics for [the dead in Judaism|Alav hashalom] is a phrase used in some Jewish communities, especially Ashkenazi ones, after mentioning the name of a deceased respected individual.
- Oseh shalom is the part of a passage commonly found as a concluding sentence in much Jewish liturgy.
Jewish religious principle
In the book Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin, Christian author Cornelius Plantinga described the biblical concept of shalom:
The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.
Use as name
Name for God
The Talmud says, "the name of God is 'Peace, therefore, one is not permitted to greet another with the word 'shalom' in places such as a bathroom.Biblical references lead some Christians to teach that "Shalom" is one of the sacred names of God.
Name for people
Shalom is also a Hebrew name, found commonly in Israel as both a given and family name. While traditionally masculine, it is occasionally androgynous, such as in the case of model Shalom Harlow.- Related male names include Shlomo and Shlomi.
- Related female names include Shulamit, Shulamith, Shlomtzion or Shlomzion and Salome and Shlomith.
- Sholem Aleichem was the pseudonym of Shalom Rabinowitz, whose work Tevye and his Daughters formed the basis for Fiddler on the Roof.
Name of organizations
- Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
- Brit Shalom
- Gush Shalom
- Hevel Shalom
- Neve Shalom
- Shalom Achshav
- Shalom Sesame
Name of synagogues or structures
- Beth Shalom
- Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey
- Shalom Park in Charlotte, North Carolina and Denver, Colorado
- Shalom Meir Tower in Tel Aviv, Israel
- Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California
Name of events
- The 1982 Lebanon War is known in Hebrew as Milchemet Shlom Hagalil, which means in English, "The War for the Shalom of the Galilee".
Other
- SS Shalom, an ocean liner operated by Zim Lines, Israel 1964–1967.
- Shalom , a Jewish newspaper established in Tehran, Iran in 1915
- Şalom is a Jewish weekly newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey in Turkish, with one page in Ladino.
- "Shalom" is a song by Voltaire, on the CD The Devil's Bris.
- "Shalom" is a song by THePETEBOX.