Parshas Kedoshim opens with Hashem commanding Moshe to say to the Children of Israel, "You shall be holy, for I, the Eternal, your G‑d, am holy" [Leviticus, 19:2]. The parsha goes on to enumerate basic fundamentals of Judaism and the mitzvot needed to become a holy people. Some of these mitzvot include: Loving and honoring G‑d. The prohibition of idolatry. The prohibition of murder. Keeping the Shabbat. Honoring one's parents. Giving tzedekah/charity. Acting justly. Not stealing and honesty in business. And restrictions on forbidden relationships.
This parsha also contains one mitzvah so essential to Judaism that it arguably contains all the other mitzvot combined. This mitzvah is "v'avta ra'ocha ka'mocha" - to love your fellow Jew as yourself. [Leviticus, 19:18].
So important is this mitzvah, that, in many traditions, it is affirmed daily prior to the beginning of the morning prayer services. One proclaims, "I hereby take upon myself the mitzvah to love my fellow Jew as myself".
Of all the mitzvot, why would this specific mitzvah be recited daily before prayer? Wouldn't the affirmation that we love and honor the Creator that we stand before be more appropriate as a preparation for prayer?
One explanation is that if we have conflict with another, when our hearts are not pure of anger and negative emotions, how are we able to stand before G‑d?
The Baal Shem Tov, the first Chassidic Master, however, goes a bit deeper. He explains that love of your fellow Jew IS an affirmation of love of G‑d. When we love our neighbors, we love what G‑d loves, his children.
The famed Rabbi Akiva was known to say that loving your fellow Jew is not just ONE essential principle of the Torah, but THE essential principle of the Torah.
It is perhaps a bit shocking then that 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's students, many Torah scholars in themselves, died due to their lack of "ahavas yisroel" during the time of the counting of the omer, the 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot, where we find ourselves in the Jewish calendar today.
The omer is an appropriate time, then, to increase in our love for our fellow Jews -and this extends to Jews of all affiliations, all levels of observance, and even those Jews, perhaps lacking the best character traits. The disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezeritch, taught that loving your fellow Jew applies equally to the righteous and the wicked of our people! We are all one nation united as children of the Almighty.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that a Jewish soul can come down into a physical body, with both the delights and sufferings that this world brings, just to do a favor for another. What a powerful concept!
Ask yourself what you can do to demonstrate your love for your fellow Jew today. As always, action is the key. Whether it is adding a few extra coins in a pushka/charity box, sharing words of Torah and inspiration to others, cooking a dish for someone in need, attempting to transform frustration with others into compassion, or just greeting others with a smile and a kind word, it all adds up in making this world a more holy, G‑dly place, a dwelling place for Hashem, and we, a holy nation creating this space.
