A Thought on Parshas Acharei

"...v'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha..." "...and love your fellow like yourself..." (19:11) ibn Shu'aib addresses the two parshios of Acharei-Kedoshim as a pair, with common themes. The verse I will focus on this week, although technically from Kedoshim, which we read next week, in that this year the parshios are separated, is very much an important one. The world's 'Golden Rule', which is Rabbi Akiva's "klal gadol", is "love your fellow as yourself." ibn Shu'aib's position on that literal translation is "This is impossible. Its unnatural." Firstly, he argues, each of us values our own life above others' lives, as a general premise. Worded differently, although there are those who would risk life and limb to protect those whom they love, most of us are not able to dismiss our own needs for the sake of "our fellow." It goes against our nature to demand that we must love all others just as we love ourselves. In the Book of Iyov (Job) we read (2:4) "Skin for the sake of skin! Whatever a man has he would give up for his life!" ibn Shu'aib interprets that verse, as do Rashi and ibn Ezra, that some people would even give up their own children to save their own lives r'l. We clearly cannot interpret our "golden rule" as demanding that we love others the way we love ourselves. Its not natural. Secondly, ibn Shu'aib observes, Rabbi Akiva himself does not endorse such extreme self-deprioritization. In fact, he rules against one making such sacrifices on Halachic grounds: Rabbi Akiva is of the opinion that if two people are dying of thirst and only one of them has water, the one with the water must drink it. "Chayecha kodmin" - your life comes first (Bava Metzia 62a). So ibn Shu'aib contends that we must translate the verse differently. The words "le'reiacha kamocha" include the letter lamed, rather than the prefix word es.This would mean "love that which is your fellow's." Treat him and his possessions with the same level of care which you would provide yourself. This is why Hillel (Shabbos 31a) explained that the Torah hinges on the principle of "what you object to you must refrain from doing to others." Its not really about love as a feeling, but love as a behavioral orientation and attitude. ibn Shu'aib adds that even if someone else harms you or your property, the Torah demands that we not take revenge. Why is this? We would not tolerate someone harming us in the spirit of revenge, so "loving that which is your fellow's" precludes us taking revenge on them. The sin of nekama is a prat - an exponent - of the klal gadol of v'ahavta l'rei'acha. ibn Shu'aib closes with an analogy given by the Talmud Yerushalmi (Nedarim 9:4): If a person hurts himself with his own hand, he would never cut off his hand. If a person pokes himself in the eye with his finger, he would not punish his finger. Therefore, when a Jew hurts another, we do not hit back. Whatever we wish for ourselves, we aim for in our dealings with others. Good Shabbos. D Fox