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Are we only supposed to love our “frum” neighbor as we love ourselves? Or do we have the obligation to love all as we like ourselves?
SecularFrummy
I think we all should work on truly liking ourselves then we wouldn’t have such a problem liking others. Its deep I know.
Someone about to be killed, for transgressing a most severe sin.
i heard chevi garfinkel say “everyone talks about viahavta lirayacha kamocha- they should start talking about the kamocha part”
SecularFrummy
“But practically, that doesn’t help us fulfill this di’oreisah.”
Actually it does. The chiyuv is to love others like you love yourself but if you don’t have a healthy love for yourself you can’t truly love another person.
Rav Noach Weinberg zatzal was known to say “If you don’t love yourself, I sure don’t want you loving me!”
SecularFrummy
yes you’re right so if you want another thing which won’t help you but connects, i heard rebbetzin heller say something really cool. she said that rabbi akiva says that this is “klal gadol baTorah.” Well Ben Azia says that “Zeh toldos adam, zeh klal gadol baTorah”
So what does toldos adam mean? it means the generation of the people. so she said that Hashem is infinite and therefore His tzelem Elokim in each of us is just a tiney winey piece of Him, so the only way to fully “get to know” Hashem is by loving all people since every person has a different tiney aspect of Him.
pretty cool…
I do know a whole lot of people who fulfill this to the letter because they have horrific self esteem.
But setting this aside and returning to the point, I think it applies to everyone- at least, I try to behave that way. Regardless of what YITZCHOK2 may think of me from that other thread, I do try to respect and be kind to people across the gamut. I think it’s important not only to make a kiddush Hashem but also to just be a good person. I’m not sure I could be more specific than that- it’s just a feeling. Like you need to be a decent person.
I’m getting very bad at saying what I mean today, I think…
What the mitzvah in the Torah is, I don’t know. However, it would seem that even if it’s only regarding Jewish people, it wouldn’t be only regarding frum people. The Torah never really differentiates between frum and nonfrum Jewis regarding mitzvos, to the best of my knowledge, except in regard to apikorsim. This is all to the best of my knowledge- I’d love to find out if I’m wrong :).
Kol ha adam. Everyone from the roshei yeshiva, to the garbage men and janitors.
The closer the person is to you the more it applies.
HaLeiVI: Doesn’t that seem counterproductive? The closer the person is to you, the easier it is to love him/her. Why make a halacha that is based on the easiest interpretation? Wouldn’t it be common sense in that case?
writersoul
Sometimes (all too often) the people we are around the most (our family) get taken for granted and are not shown the proper love and respect.
Yes, but when push comes to shove, it’s easier to love your mom or your best friend than it is to love that random shnook who always bumps into you by shmoneh esrei.
Sefer HaBris (by R’ Eliyahu Pinchas of Vilna) explains at length why this mitzvah applies to all people, not just Jews. Google “love of one’s neighbor means that we should love all people” and you’ll see translations of the relevant parts, particularly in the book on Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition by R’ Dovid Sears.
The thing about being a Jew that I love is the need to love all Jews, even those who have hurt me. It is also extremely difficult.
Since when is easiness the metric? A lot of Mitzvos are easy and a lot of Divrei Reshus are hard.
The closer a person is the more more love there is supposed to be. This is not about Lifnim Meshuras Hadin or a utopian ideal. This is Din.
We see that Hillel applied this in practice to mean that what you wouldn’t want to be done to you, don’t do unto others. This is not quite the ultimate definition of love. The Gemara says not to marry someone that you won’t end up loving since you are supposed to love your wife because of the Pasuk, Ve’ahavta Lerei’acha Kamocha. So, as we see, it goes in stages and is in proportion to Rei’acha.
HaLeiVi- I’m not doubting that you have this from somewhere, but can I have a source? I’ve just never heard this before.
I’m not saying that the metric for mitzvos is how easy they are to do. It just seems like if then, why is there a mitzvah at all? Do you need a mitzvah in order to tell you to love your parents or wife and kids?
It also makes sense to feed your kids, yet Rabbeinu Bachye lists feeding your children as one of the greater types of Tzeddaka. There is also a Mitzva of Mibsarcha Al Tis’alem, to take care of those who are close to you.
These Mitzvos are Din, and are about doing what is right and appropriate. When we return a lost item, it is not being extra kind. It is doing what must be done. All Jews are connected and we are commanded to love each other. But in application we see it playing out in different degrees.
Just as in Tzeddaka, we give some more and some less. If a person is a Meyuchas and is accustomed to honor it is a Mitzva to give that to him. Otherwise it will be missing from him. If you don’t supply a Gabbai for a regular person he is not missing anything.
The Torah uses the term Ahavta Larei’acha. The more Rei’ah, the more Ahava. Not because you want it but because it will be missing without it. This applies to more than immediate family. Every situation has to be addressed with its appropriate approach. For the complete stranger we have the Mishna, Hevei Mekabel Kol Adam Besever Panim Yafos, and Ma Disani Lach Lechavrecha Lo Saavid. Whereas for a Shidduch you have to make sure you will be able to love the person.
There are multi levels
However, yes.
The full obligation applies ONLY to “Osei Ma’asei Amcha”
i.e. our “frum”
Oh Shrek,etc. are wrong except insofar some details
It’s complex
SOURCES, PLEASE?
I’d love to look this up- it’s a really interesting topic.
So far I think yytz is the only one who gave one- I’m planning to check it out, thanks.
The Gemara brings down the Passuk several times in Sanhedrin when trying to figure out how we do each type of Misah. V’ahavta… is Darshened for “Barrer Lo Misah Yafa”. It is also used in Kiddushin 42a (I think) to say not to marry a wife that you find unattractive.
I just want to point out that the death penalty is not a contradiction with “Oseh Ma’aseh Am’cha” because Harugei Beis Din get a Kapparah with their deaths.
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