Parshat Kedoshim  1 Iyar 5763, 3 May 2003

By Shlomo Riskin

"...You shall love your neighbor like yourself, I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:18).

But precisely because this commandment is so significant, it is crucial that it be properly understood. If indeed it is an ethical commandment, dealing with inter-personal relationship, why does the verse conclude, "I am the Lord." What does G-d have to do with it? And is it really possible for one to truly love another like he/she loves him/her self - or is this a totally unrealistic expectation? And precisely who is the "neighbor" (re'a) of whom the Bible speaks? Is it limited to someone who lives in your town, or to a fellow religionist, or to an observant Jew - or is it universally inclusive of every human being? It seems to me that the answer to these questions, as well as the precise application of the commandment in our day-to-day affairs, will speak volumes as to the nature of Judaism itself as a world religion.

I would argue that the concluding words of the verse, "I am the Lord," is the real key to our proper interpretation of the commandment itself. The Almighty describes Himself, or it were, as the Lord who created the world ("I am the one who forms light and creates darkness... I am the Lord who does all these" Isaiah 45:7), and as the Lord who took the Israelites out of Egypt (I am the Lord who took you out of Egypt, the house of bondage" Exodus 20:2). These two towering Biblical events, both effectuated exclusively by G-d, are the defining building blocks of our Jewish faith: our elaborate system of blessings and prayers hark back to G-d as the creator of world and life, and our traditional festivals and rituals are in large measure a reminder of the exodus from Egypt (see Ramban, at the end of Bo). What is less frequently noted, however, is that these two cataclysmic events are both dramatically inter-related - and also serves as the foundation of our ethical interpersonal relationships.

If the Lord is creator, then all human beings are creatures; it then follows logically that one creature dare not "lord" it over any other creature. To do so would be usurping the exclusive place of the Divine! If the Lord is Parent-in-heaven, we are all siblings in this amazingly heterogeneous planet which is at the same time becoming a global village; it then follows logically that one sibling dare not harm or take advantage of another sibling. The Creator-Lord or Parent-hood of G-d demands the fundamental equality - and freedom under G-d - of every human being. And so the G-d of creation had to also emerge as the G-d of the exodus - the G-d who had to teach every despotic tyrant that there is absolutely no justification for enslaving other human beings (See Ibn Ezra, ad loc "You must love doing good to your friend like yourself, because I, the Lord, created all of you equally").

Hence I believe that the most accurate translation - interpretation of our commandment must be: "You shall love your neighbor because he is (a human being) like you" (Mendelson's Biyur, Rosenzweig - Buber's translation, "liebe deine nicht, er ist qua du").

How do we express this fundamental principle in our daily activities? Hillel the Elder maintained the command is to be observed more by what we refrain from doing than by what actually we do. When a would-be proselyte came before the Sage asking to be converted on the condition that he be taught the entire Torah while standing on one leg, Hillel responded, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your friend. This is the entire Torah; the rest is interpretation, which you must go and learn" (B.T. Shabbat 31A). The Ramban (ad loc) reads this commentary into the very prefix "l" of the Biblical "l"rea'akha", literally "you shall love towards your friend;" act towards him as if you loved him like yourself by not doing to him what you would consider hateful if done to you.

Martin Buber utilizes the strange prefix form of the Biblical text to establish a fundamental principle of human relationships - and at the same time strengthen the theological underpinning with which we began our discussion (Buber, I and then). We would have expected to find the Biblical phrase, "You shall love et reakha," the conjunctive et always appearing before an objective case; in this context, "You shall love" is the subject and "your friend" is the object. A human being is never to be seen as an object, thunders Buber. A fellow human being is never acted upon; he must always be related to (l'reakha). When we use another human being merely as a means to our end, not recognizing him/her as a child of G-d in the fullness of his/her being, we are establishing an illegitimate "I-it" relationship rather than the Biblically mandated "I-thou" relationship. Using another, taking advantage of other, robbing another of his/her freedom of choice and independent development - even if they be family members or students - are all forms of slavery which must be prohibited. "You must act with love towards your neighbor in the fullness of a relationship of equals, because he/she is like you, under G-d the Creator who demands universal freedom."

From this perspective, I would insist - along with the Tosafot Yom Tov (ad loc) and Rav Hayim Vital (Gate of Holiness, Sha'ar HaKodesh) - that "your neighbor" in this context includes a Gentile as well. After all, the text does not read "your brother" or "your colleague" (as it does earlier), the etymology of re'a (neighbor or friend) seems to include even someone who may be evil (ra), and the Bible similarly explains the Sabbath day "in order that your - Gentile man servant and maid servant may rest like you" (Kamokha, because he/she is like you, Deuteronomy 5:13). Furthermore, it would seem that the universal application of this commandment, as well of the Entire Torah, is the precise point of Ben Azzai's addition to Rabbi Akiba's words:

"Rabbi Akiba says, "You shall love your neighbor like yourself," - this is the great(est) principle of the Torah. Says Ben Azzai, 'This is the book of generations of humanity (Genesis 5:1) - that is an even greater principle, (and the basis for our commandment)."

Shabbat Shalom.

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