The Great Principle
Love and Unity are the catalysts that bring us to the Final Redemption ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM
Why is “Loving Your fellow as Yourself” a Great Principle?
“Love your fellow as yourself,” Rabbi Akiva said, “is the great principle of the Torah.”
There is also a well know story in the Talmud of the prospective convert who asked Hillel to convert him. The prospective convert then sets a condition for his conversion, “that Hillel teach him the whole Torah while standing on one leg.” Hillel’s response was:
What is hateful to you do not do to others; the rest is commentary. Go and learn [the rest].
Once more, our oral tradition magnifies the importance of this one commandment and deems it central and fundamental to the observance of all the others.
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One may wonder as to the need for this “great principle,” and how does Hillel justify his claim that this Mitzvah is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary?
Furthermore, if this commandment is so central, why wasn’t it included in the Ten Commandments?
How can we Realistically Observe the Social Mitzvos?
To answer all these questions, let us go back to the verses preceding, “Love your fellow as yourself.” Immediately before commanding us to love one another, the Torah gives us specific commandments such as not to be a tale bearer, not to stand idly when others are in danger, not to take revenge or to bear a grudge.
When we try to observe each one of these commandments separately, we will discover the difficulty that accompanies them. Imagine a person hears a juicy piece of gossip about another and has an opportunity to tell it to someone. What is the likelihood that they will not do so, the Torah’s commandment to the contrary notwithstanding?
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What is the likelihood of forgetting or ignoring what another had done to you?
These commandments go against human nature. How can we ever expect of normal and healthy humans to overcome the need to share gossip with others and to not bear grudges?
Furthermore, if one does, on occasion, succeed in suppressing one’s inner desire to share gossip, bear a grudge, and the like, what is going on in one’s thoughts? Not speaking ill of another does not guarantee that one will not think ill of another. And while, technically speaking, one has not violated any law if they keep their slanderous remarks to themselves; nevertheless, it is detrimental to the soul to even maintain negative thoughts about others.
According to the alter Rebbe, thinking evil, though not necessarily a crime, affects the soul adversely, even more so than an occasional `slip of the tongue’ negative remark.
How does one then realistically observe these almost impossible commandments?
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The Great Principle is the Answer
The answer is “Love your fellow as yourself.” The Alter Rebbe in his classic Chassidic work, the Tanya (Chapter 32), teaches us to realize that your fellow possesses a soul which is a part of G-d. Realize that your soul and his or her soul have a common source. Realize that what separates the two of you is only the body; but, insofar as your true essence – your soul – is concerned, you are essentially connected, united and one.
With this perspective of who the other person is in relation to yourself, we do not have to struggle to artificially suppress our desire to speak evil of another. After all, he or she is my brother or sister; she or he is a part of me. How can I speak ill of someone who is really an extension of myself?
In addition, when one develops this awareness of the centrality of one’s soul, then it enables the person to observe all of the commandments, even those whose focus is on man to G-d relationships.
Not Just a Lofty Altruistic Ideal
If the Torah had introduced this commandment at the very beginning, or, in the Ten Commandments, ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM people might have concluded that it is a lofty and unattainable goal, which has no bearing on everyday living.
By inserting this “great principle” within the specific commandments concerning inter-personal relationships, the Torah thereby underscores how it is absolutely crucial to work on this level of love in order to observe some of the most basic laws.
The Teachings of Chassidus
How does one reach this level of love? The most straightforward approach is to study the teachings of the Torah that deal with unity. Of all the different disciplines within Torah the teachings of Chassidus, the soul of Torah, is most suited to expose the soul of every Jew.
We can now understand why these teachings were revealed in recent generations although all teachings of Torah were contained within the Torah that was given at Mount Sinai.
Since the Messianic Age is about bringing all of the Jewish people together in the Land of Israel, it is imperative that we foster true unity as a way of paving the way for that unity.
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Our sages have assured us that fulfillment of this “great principle: is the greatest catalyst for all of G-d’s blessings, especially the greatest blessing - the complete and true redemption, through our righteous Moshiach!
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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
