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The Essence Of Judaism
Built On Relationships
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TOWN MEETING ON...
feead Stizitti6earret
Rabbi Daniel
Gordis
Joel Lurie
Grishaver
Co-Sponsored By:
Detroit Jewish Federation CORE Department
Agency for Jewish Education
Jewish Community Center
The Detroit Jewish News
Three evenings at the Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit
at the D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
in the Rosenberg Recreation Room
Monday, May 11, 1998, 7:30 p.m.
Joel Lurie Grishaver speaks on
'The Nature of the Soul"
***************
Tuesday, May 19, 1998, 7:30 p.m.
Rabbi Daniel Gordis speaks on "...And God Was Not in the Fire"
***************
Wednesday, May 27, 1998,.7:30 p.m.
A Rabbinic Panel Responds
***************
Moderator: Robert Sklar,
Editor of The Detroit Jewish News
For more information, please call Beth Greenapple at (248) 661-7649.
gc.
5/8
1998
72
Torah Portion
hand, we are commanded to love our
neighbor, the stranger and God.
The Torah generally commands us to
do those proper behaviors which we
wouldn't figure out on our own. Eating
is instinctive, but eating a kosher diet
must be taught. Similarly, without the
II Kings 7:3-20.
Torah's instruction most of would avoid
relationships with neighbors, strangers
and
perhaps even God.
RABBI ELLIOT PACHTER
Hey, you might say, I don't even
Special to The Jewish News
know my neighbors, let alone like or
respect them. And now the Torah
IV hen I was in the third
expects
me to love my neighbor as •
grade in Grand Rapids,
much
as
I love myselfl It doesn't seem
Mich., we learned the
possible.
In "Bava Metzia" 62a, an
Golden Rule. In addi-
intriguing
situation is presented. You
tion to English my teacher wrote on a
and a companion are in the
poster board the Golden Rule
desert. You have only enough
in other languages. She
water
to sustain yourself,
assigned me the task of copy-
your
companion
has none.
ing the Hebrew version from
Ben
Petura
instructs
us to
her book. So I carefully wrote
share
the
water
and
die
what I saw —v'ahavta Pre-
together. Rabbi Akiva dis-
akha kamokha — not know-
agrees, saying that one's life
ing exactly what it meant, or
has precedence over the life
where these words came
of one's companion. This is
from. Only later would I real-
the same Rabbi Akiva who
ize that these words, usually
preaches
the importance of
RABBI
ELLIOT
translated as love your neigh-
the
commandment
to "love
PAC HTER
bor as yourself, are found in
your
neighbor."
Love,
yes,
Spec ial to
Parashat Kedoshim (Vayikra
but
not
at
the
expense
of
The Jew ish News
19:18).
one's
own
life.
•
Located near the middle of
Nonetheless, the verse says
the third book of the Bible, Parashat
"kamokha
—
like yourself," and-here lies
Kedoshim can be viewed as both the
another
difficulty.
The mitzvot are usu-
physical and spiritual center of the
ally
given
to
us
without
limitation. The
Torah. The Lord spoke to Moses, say-
mitzvot
are
challenging,
but not impos-
ing. "Speak to the whole Israelite com-
sible
for
us
to
follow.
How
then can we
munity and say to them: 'You shall be
expect
to
treat
our
neighbors,
whom we
holy, for I, the Lord your God, am
might
not
even
know,
like
or
respect,
in
holy" ( Vayikra 19:1-2).
a
manner
equal
to
the
way
we
treat
our-
The centrality of this parashah is
selves?
reflected in a midrashic comment:
The great sage, Hillel, offers a possi-
Speak to the whole Israelite community
ble
interpretation. When challenged by
— this teaches that this parashah was
a
non-Jew
to describe the Torah in just a
recited publicly because most of the
few
words,
he remarks: What is hateful
body of the Torah depends on it
to
you,
do
not
do unto your neighbor
(Vayikra Rabba 24:5). If one is looking
31a).
Certainly
it is more real-
(Shabbat
for a description of the essence of
istic
to
avoid
hating,
than
to actually
Judaism, Parashat Kedoshim is a good
love.
Hillel's
advice
is
slightly
easier to
source to consider.
follow,
but
does
it
really
reflect
the lan-
In the midst of this essential parashah
guage
of
the
verse
in
the
Torah?
are found the words, "love your neigh-
Ramban offers a different approach,
bor as yourself," described by Rabbi
in
his
commentary on Vayikra 19:18,
Akiva as klal gadol batorah — a princi-
which
more closely sticks to the Torah's
ple rule of the Torah (Bereishit Rabbah
words.
The answer lies in the problem
24:7).
itself.
The
word "kamokha — like your-
•This sounds like a good idea; but in
self'
has
typically
been understood to
reality, it is a difficult mitzvah to
"vkhavta
— you shall love."
modify
observe, beginning with the command-
But
it
is
not
the
quantity
of love which
ment "to love." We are not command-
must
be
equal,
but
rather
the quality of
ed to love family — not parents, chil-
the
individuals.
Love
your
neighbor
dren, husband or wife. On the other
because he/she is -kamokha — just like
you.
Elliot Pachter is the spiritual leader
To strengthen the point, the words
of Congregation ffnai Moshe.
v'ahavta l're-akha kamokha are signifi-
Shabbat Achare
Mot/Kedoshim:
Leviticus 12:1-15:33;
.