זה כלל גדול בתורה
ואהבת לרעך כמוך
“This is an all embracing principle in the Torah.”
Jerusalem Talmud, Nedarim 9:42
“And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Speak to all the congregation of the People of Israel�This indicates that this was spoken to the entire assembly because the essence of the Torah is dependent on what is taught in this section.”
Rashi on Lev 19:2, cited in R’ Ari Kahn, In Search of Holiness, M’oray HaAish, Aish.com
Why was this section taught in a gathering? Why does it not state "Speak to the children of Israel" as it does in the other sections of the Torah? Because all the Ten Commandments are included in it." �Tanchuma Kedoshim Section 3, cited in R’ Ari Kahn, Holiness, �M’oray HaAish, Aish.com
2) "You shall have no other gods before me," and here it is written, "Nor make to yourselves molten gods" (19:4).
3) "You shall not take the name of the L-rd your G‑d in vain," and here it is written, "And you shall not swear by My name falsely" (19:12).
4) "Remember the Sabbath day", and here it is written, �"And keep My sabbaths" (19:3).
5) "Honor your father and your mother," and here it is written, "Every man shall fear his mother and his father" (19:3).
6) "You shall not murder," and here it is written, �"You shall not stand by the blood of your fellow" (19:16).
7) "You shall not commit adultery," and here it is written, �"Both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (19:10).
8) "You shall not steal," and here it is written, "You shall not steal, [neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another]" (19:11).
9) "You shall not bear false witness," and here it is written, �"You shall not go about as a talebearer" (19:16).
10) "You shalt not covet... any thing that is your fellow's," �and here it is written, "Love your fellow as yourself" (19:18).
Midrash Rabbah, cited at Chabad.org, Parsha In-Depth
Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy... (19:2)
“The easiest thing is to hide from the world and its follies, seclude oneself in a room, and be a holy hermit. What the Torah desires, however, is that a person should be part and parcel of "all the congregation of the children of Israel"- and be holy.”
R’ Moshe Alshich on the Torah, cited at Chabad.org
“This section of the Torah was taught publicly in order to teach man how to become holy, and within the method of this teaching lies the essential message - holiness is something which belongs to the collective Jewish community. If holy means separate, a person might be led to believe that in order to become holy he must recoil, and remove himself from the community. Therefore this section was taught publicly - to communicate to us that the holiness we seek is found in the community.”�R’ Ari Kahn, Holiness, M’oray HaAish, Aish.com
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am HaShem.”
Leviticus 19:17-18
“Our sages have said: "Words that come from the heart, enter the heart." It therefore follows that if you seek to correct a failing of your fellow and are unsuccessful, the fault lies not with him, but with yourself. Had you truly been sincere, your words would certainly have had an effect.”
The Lubavitcher Rebbe cited at Chabad.org
Rebuke, rebuke your fellow (19:17)�
“Why is the word "rebuke" repeated? Because first you must rebuke yourself.”
The Chassidic Masters, cited at Chabad.org
You shall not hate your brother in your heart; rebuke, rebuke your fellow, but do not incur a sin on his account (19:17)
If a person is wronged by another, he should not hate him and remain silent, as is said in regard to the wicked, "And Absalom did not speak to Amnon, neither good nor evil, for Absalom hated Amnon" (II Samuel 13:22). Rather, it is a mitzvah for him to make this known to him, and say to him, "Why did you do this-and-this to me? Why did you offend me in this way?", as it is written: "Rebuke, rebuke your fellow." And if that person expresses regret and asks him for forgiveness, he should forgive him...One who sees that his fellow has sinned, or is following an improper path, it is a mitzvah to bring him back to the proper path and to inform him that he sins by his bad actions, as it is written: "Rebuke, rebuke your fellow.” . . .
Matthew 18
When one rebukes one's fellow, whether it is regarding matters between the two of them or regarding matters between that person and G‑d, he should rebuke him in private. He should speak to him gently and softly, and should tell him that he is doing this for his own good, so that he may merit the World to Come. If that person accepts [the rebuke], good; if not, he should rebuke him a second time and a third time. He should continue to rebuke him to the point that the sinner strikes him and says to him, "I refuse to listen.” Whoever has the ability to rebuke and does not do so shares in the guilt for the sin, since he could have prevented it... One who is wronged by his fellow but does not desire to rebuke him or speak to him about it at all because the offender is a very coarse person, or a disturbed person, but chooses instead to forgive him in his heart, bearing him no grudge nor rebuking him, this is the manner of the pious. The Torah's objection [to remaining silent] is only when he harbors animosity.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Character, ch. 6
Each man is commanded to love each and every one of Israel as himself as [Leviticus 19:18] states: "Love your neighbor as yourself.” Therefore, one should speak the praises of [others] and show concern for their money just as he is concerned with his own money and seeks his own honor. Whoever gains honor through the degradation of a colleague does not have a share in the world to come.
Mishnah Torah, Human Dispositions 6:3, Sefaria.org
What is Love?
5 2 5 1
Love your fellow as yourself (19:18)
The Torah commands to "Love your fellow as yourself." Why only as much as yourself? Indeed, Chassidim have always maintained that the meaning of the verse is the very opposite of how it is commonly understood. Despite all that you know about yourself, the Torah is saying, you should try to love yourself as much as you love your fellow...
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch cited at Chabad.org, Parsha In-Depth
“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him…If anyone says, "I love G-d," and hates his brother, he is a liar. For if a person does not love his brother, whom he has seen, then he cannot love G-d, whom he has not seen. Yes, this is the command we have from him: whoever loves G-d must love his brother too.”
1 John 3:15, 4:20-21
Love your fellow as yourself (19:18)
“Love of a fellow is the first gate leading into the palace of G‑d. To love a fellow is to love G‑d. For "You are children unto the L-rd your G‑d" (Deuteronomy 14:1); one who loves a father loves his children. "Love your fellow as yourself" is an elaboration and elucidation upon "And you shall love the L-rd your G‑d" (Deuteronomy 6:5). When one loves one's fellow one loves G‑d, for one's fellow contains within himself a "part of G‑d above" (Job 31:2). By loving one's fellow, the innermost part of him, one loves G‑d.”
Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov cited at Chabad.org
The three loves—love of G‑d, love of Torah and love of one's fellow—are one. One cannot differentiate between them, for they are of a single essence. And since they are of a single essence, each one embodies all three. So if you see a person who has a love of G‑d but lacks a love of Torah and a love of his fellow, you must tell him that his love of G‑d is incomplete. And if you see a person who has only a love for his fellow, you must strive to bring him to a love of Torah and a love of G‑d—that his love toward his fellows should not only be expressed in providing bread for the hungry and water for the thirsty, but also to bring them close to Torah and to G‑d. When we will have the three loves together, we will achieve the Redemption. For just as this last Exile was caused by a lack of brotherly love, so shall the final and immediate Redemption be achieved by love for one's fellow.
Lubavitcher Rebbe, cited at Chabad.org, Parsha In-Depth
“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which mitzvah is the most important of all?” 29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: HaShem our G-d, HaShem is one. 30 And you shall love HaShem your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-31