On the famous verse (19:18), "Love your neighbor like yourself, I am Gd" - the Baal Shem Tov is reported to have connected "like yourself" to "I am Gd" - i.e., just as you do for your neighbor [loving him unconditionally even if it is not deserved]. I, your Gd, will in love you unconditionally even if you are undeserving of it. This is also reflected in the phrase in Tehillim (121:5), "Gd is your shadow." A shadow copies precisely every movement of the body - so too HaShem will copy your every loving act.
[recorded in Great Torah Lights [5 volumes on Chumash in English - Devorah Publications.]
One of the many mitzvos we find in our sedra is the mitzvah of orlah (see 19:23). The basic idea is that fruit that grows in the first three years is biblically forbidden to eat. The fruit of the fourth year are taken to Yerushalayim and eaten there. What’s the idea behind this mitzvah of orlah? There are several ideas found amongst the Rishonim. The Ibn Ezra and Ramban write that the fruit of the first three years is physically deficient - it does not have the complete nutrients, smell, and taste - and actually can cause damage to the body. The Ramban adds that there is a certain comparison between orlah and bikurim in that we want to offer our produce to HaShem before we enjoy them; it’s a form of gratitude to HaShem for giving us such a yield. However, since the fruit of the first three years is deficient, we wait until the fourth year so we can offer the real, healthy fruits to HaShem. Another angel is provided by the Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:37). The Rambam writes that back in the day, magicians used to think they had ways of making trees yield fruit quicker, and they used to offer these fruits to their idols. Thus, to avoid and dispel such notions, the Torah tells us to stay away from such fruit during the first three years of yield. The Sefer Hachinuch (mitzvah 247) shines some new light on this mitzvah - specifically focussing on the mass convergence upon Yerushalayim in the fruits’ fourth year. The fact that we must go to the Mikdash - the place of Torah - to have an opportunity to learn Torah there. Furthermore, we receive a certain degree of blessing there in the place of the source of blessing.
There is a hugely fundamental piece of Ramban at the start of Kedoshim. When the pasuk commands us ‘you shall be holy,’ the Ramban explains that this is referring to an umbrella mitzvah. Let’s explain. One can technically be following every mitzvah in the Torah but can still miss the boat. One can be meticulous in eating strictly kosher food, not speak lashon hara, and learn Torah day and night, but one can still fail to connect to HaShem and be walking on a spiritual path. If one does these mitzvos without following the spirit of the law, then one will hardly be changed by the mitzvos; they will remain acts of religious ritual as opposed to means of becoming close to HaShem and refining one’s character. The example the Ramban gives is someone who over-indulges in the physical world; if one eats to no end and indulges in other physical pleasures (which are all technically permitted) then one has made themselves into a materialistic person and has not lived a spiritually-centred life. Thus, the commandment of ‘you shall be holy’ tells us to take special care to observe the underlying spirit of the law. Indeed, the Rambam (hilchos Shabbos 24:12) writes that one of the reasons for the institution of muktzeh on Shabbos was because without such a prohibition one could spend their entire day moving things round etc. to the extent that they miss the whole spirit of Shabbos - to rest. The theme? To realise, recognise, and respect the spirit and the underlying principles behind the mitzvos are very important!
The Positive:
Rabbi Moshe Rosenstein understands loving your neighbour as yourself that one should rejoice in one’s neighbour’s good news as if it were one’s own good news!
The Negative:
The Baal Shem Tov asks what it means to "love your neighbour as yourself"? He explains that if an individual sins he will naturally justify his behaviour to himself: "I couldn't help it. The Yeitzer Hara (evil inclination) momentarily got the better of me". Moments later, he will have rationalised his behaviour and will think of himself no worse than he did before he had sinned. We must love our neighbour as ourselves. Thus, in exactly the same way that we love ourselves just as much after we have sinned as before, if we see our neighbour sin we should love him just as much after his sin! We should find the same justifications for his sin as we would for ourselves! It is so natural, and so wrong, for us to think not so well of our neighbour in such circumstances. This is a challenging task for us, but one that we are obligated to try to achieve. The Extreme Rabbi Akiva taught: ""…love your neighbour as yourself …" (Zeh Klal Gadol Ba Torah)
And you shall love your neighbour like yourself, I am G-d. (Vayikra 19;18) The commandment to have love for fellow human beings is one of Judaism's most famous legacies to all mankind. The great Rabbi Akiva referred to it a major principle of the Torah. His teacher Hillel, when confronted with a potential convert who wanted to be taught the whole Torah "while standing on one leg", responded with a variation on the theme: "that which is detested to you, do not do to your friend." The difficulty in the command of loving a neighbour comes with the word kamocha, "like yourself". Are we indeed supposed to give him everything that we have? Surely no love can approach the natural elemental power of self-love. How, then, can the individual be expected to love someone else as much as him or her self? A recent commentary Ktav Ve'Hakabalah suggests that the command needs to be understood in a different way, as follows: The love that we have to have for our fellow, is defined by kamocha, "like you". This means the same sort of devotion that we expect from others towards us. The amount
How does somebody become a better person how does it all begin? We see clearly in this week’s parsha what Hashem wants from everyman. The pasuk says (19:3) Every man shall revere his mother and his father and you shall observe My Sabbaths- I am Hashem your God. Rashi comments on these two commandments that were placed together in the same Pasuk to teach us if ones parents tell us to violate the Shabbos one should not listen to them. We will suggest another connection between the two commandments, in this pasuk it is as if Hashem is saying just like you need to honour, respect, serve your parents because they brought you into this world, so was I a partner in your birth. How can you show your honour and respect to me by keeping my Shabbos which is my sign to show I created the world, and since you are part of the world, your observance of the Shabbos will be a sign that I created you as well. I am part of your life and I am in it together with you.
There is a story I once heard of parents who wanted there son who
Parshiyos Acharei Mos &Kedoshim; Love Thy Neighbour
Our second sedra this week features a famous mitzvah; ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha (19:18); that one is to ‘love your friend as yourself.’ It has been pointed out that there are two words in lashon hakodesh for saying friend; chaver and re’a. The difference is that chaver means someone who is similar to you; chaver shares a root with the word chibur (to join/connect) and chabura (a gathering) - a chaver is someone who is thus easy to befriend because he is just like you. But a re’a is someone who is different to you; he might have different goals, different viewpoints, and a different personality. For example a bride and groom are called re’im ahuvim; man and woman are different species, to say the least. Therefore, in choosing to use the word re’a, the Torah is commanding us to love even someone who is rather different to you. Anyway, this week we shall discuss what exactly this mitzvah of ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha entails.
Most of us assume that this mitzvah means that one must literally have the same love and care for someone else as one has for themselves. Indeed, this seems to be the opinion of the Rambam, who writes[1] ‘it is a mitzvah [incumbent] upon each person to love each and every Jew like himself, as it says ve’ahavta lere’acha kamocha’ and elsewhere he writes[2] ‘we have been commanded to love each part of us (I.e. of our nation) like we love ourselves, and our love and pity/mercy for our brother(s) is to be like our love and pity/mercy for ourselves…’ However, it seems that the Rambam is alone in this view.[2b] The Sforno, Ramban, Chizkuni, Sefer Hachinuch, Rav Shimshon Refoel Hirsch, and the Netziv all hold[3] that the mitzvah is not to have the same love for your others as you do
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