Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Love everybody like you love yourself
Today in class we learned a very nice idea. Included in pasuk yud zayin and yud chet, we learned that we must not hate our brothers in our hearts, we must rebuke our friends and keep them from sinning, we must not take revenge, and we must love everybody like we love ourselves. This concept is very important. We learned that at the end, it says "Ani Hashem," showing that we are not only focusing on the moral and ethical aspects here. We are also focusing on the fact that Hashem wants us to go above and beyond what we are NOT supposed to do. For example, it is not enough just to NOT be a tale bearer, we must take it a step further and go out of our way to create positive relationships with others. This is an important idea for everybody to recognize. If we were moral people and did not speak badly about people or take revenge, we would would still be considered "good" people. However, if we take it a step further and try to form relationships with people, and treat them properly, (because we know we do not appreciate it when others treat us badly) society in general will be a lot better. Especially as a Jewish nation, it is crucial to stay united as a nation and stick together, and creating these positive relationships will help us accomplish this.
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Aviva I really think this is beautiful and well said. I think that is what being jewish is all about- it is about taking things a step further and going out of our way to care about people and treat them properly. I think as a class we sometimes can struggle with this idea but it is so important to remember these lessons, especially as teenagers when we are a little self centered.
ReplyDeleteYes, I definitely agree with you!
ReplyDeleteI agree that this mitzvah is a very crucial one. However, I've always had a difficult time with it. I feel like its "easier said than done," yet perhaps all of the mitzvot are. This is such a profound and 'popular' mitzvah that seems to give people such trouble. Maybe it's the time we live in? Maybe we are too self centered? Or maybe it has always been a constant struggle and that is why it seems to be so 'popular' idea in Judaism?
ReplyDeleteLike many other things that we have learned in perek 19, this idea was revolutionary in the times the Torah was written. However, as seen today, it is still a key aspect in keeping societies together.