Overstating the principle

We all read and interpret the mishnayot of Avot in our own ways. That is only natural. However, we are duty-bound to respect the message that they are intended to convey, and shouldn't allow our personal feelings and sentiments to carry us away. 

I recently came across the proposition, in a letter to a Jewish online newspaper, that "The most precious gift of the Torah is peace", a proposition for which the cited authority was Avot 1:12.  In company with most other Avot-readers (and others), I am a great admirer of peace; I pray for it several times a day. However, I would hesitate to stretch the teaching in Avot 1:12 so far.  This mishnah urges readers to be like Aaron the High Priest: love peace, to pursue it, love one's fellows and bring them close to the Torah -- but that it is as far as it goes. 

The author of the letter may have been thinking of another mishnah -- "The Holy One, Blessed be He, found no better vessel in which to hold blessing for Israel than peace" (Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta, Uktzin 3:12) -- but even that doesn't quite do the job!