The Book of Vayikra, which is known as the Law of the Priests, opens with Moses addressing the entire Jewish people about the laws of sacrifices - laws seemingly relevant only to the priestly class. However, it is apparent from the details of the sh'lamim sacrifice (peace offering), one of the sacrificial offerings, that it is meant for the community, the priestly class and the individual and that they were reliant on each other to achieve peace.

The peace offering was offered by a person who was completely satisfied with his life, lacking nothing. That is why some commentators refer to it as a "complete" sacrifice, another meaning for sh'lamim.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the 19th-century German commentator, pointed out that peace offerings, with the exception of the Shavuot sacrifice, are brought only by individuals; hence the emphasis on the word "hu" (meaning "he") in Vayikra 3:1. A nation, Rabbi Hirsch noted, generally did not bring a peace offering, because a nation can only be happy if the individual members of the nation are happy. That is why, in the biblical text, the peace offering is usually accompanied by the Hebrew word zevach. Although its root means to slaughter, it also means a celebratory, festive offering.

Unlike a burnt offering, a peace offering could be male or female, and only a small part of the peace offering was burnt on the altar. The rest, except for the portions reserved for the priests, was eaten by the offerer and his guests.

The individual and community's satisfaction are intertwined. The community cannot be satisfied unless the individuals within it are happy and the individual needs the community to partake in their happiness to complete their communal ritual of sharing their offering. Only then is a real sense of peace achieved.