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Who Is My Neighbor: A Different Rabbinic Perspective
A few months ago I wrote an article in messiah magazine 93 entitled “Who is my Neighbor?” (here) In it I came to the conclusion that a possible halachic difference between Yeshua and Rabbinic Judaism is that He extended "neighbor" to include everyone, i.e. not just fellow Israelites. I was then delighted to find an article by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin on the subject of loving your neighbor where he comes to that same conclusion about the Torah’s commandment and finds additional Rabbinic sources to back it up. Here’s a link to the article:
http://www.ohrtorahstone.org.il/parsha/5763/kedoshim63.htm
What do you think of his conclusion?
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While I ultimately agree with his conclusion I do not think he arrived there by studying the sources. It seems to have resulted from the progressive social justice and equal rights focused value system that he holds.
Nonetheless, I like the point he brings up about the unique Hebrew construction of the commandment "Love your neighbor." As he points out, normally the word "love" in Hebrew is followed by a direct object. In this verse, it is constructed differently, so that it could literally be translated "Love TO your neighbor," which is what led the commentators to understand this in a more active sense.
Peace
Aaron
Aaron | June 20, 2007 5:49 AM