tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104942432909993520.post7882778575646689509..comments2024-03-07T02:11:48.612-08:00Comments on Fusion 613: "Loving your neighbor as yourself:" Not so fast!fusion 613http://www.blogger.com/profile/04527618316229889614noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104942432909993520.post-30719947071174412142011-04-30T15:34:18.913-07:002011-04-30T15:34:18.913-07:00Shalom Chaver shel le R' Brad:
How true....
A...Shalom Chaver shel le R' Brad:<br />How true....<br /><br />A simple statement of love, when it is subjected to pilpul, and xenophobia, and centuries of abuse, can become a statement of loving only another Jew, or even only another religiously observant Jew.<br /><br />I cannot be in love with or in awe of a God Who wants me only to love a sub-sect of humanity, or respect Rabbis who pervert such a simple statement of love.<br /><br />The command to love is followed by "I am God." While it is easy to love someone who is already your friend, or already is in your clique (whether it be a member of your country club, or religious sect), it is much harder to love one's neighbor who mows his lawn at 6 AM on a Sunday.<br /><br />We can ONLY love all, even those who rub us the wrong way, when we truly love God. Understanding this, we understand that we are all interconnected, and all made in God's image. By not loving someone, is actually not loving ourselves or God. Hence before we can love, we must learn to love ourselves.<br /><br />This is why our sages teach that those who profess of loving God in the V'Ahavtah in Synagogues, to a God that they cannot see, and then do not love a person standing before them, who is the image of God, that they can see, are ''liars and hypocrites.'' <br /><br />By loving God and ourselves, we can see how the first part of the verse of not to hate nor hold a grudge is being done not so much for the object of our hate or grudge, but for ourselves. We hurt OURSELVES when we hate, harm, and hold resentments. A resentment is an acid that eats away at the container, us.<br /><br />Hence loving all is for OUR benefit, especially if done altruistically expecting nothing back. When we do acts of ahavath chesed, they act as a boomerang, and complete us spiritually. When we hate in our heart, or do acts of harm, it may make our yetzer ha ra feel good, but in the end we become a slave to ill will.<br /><br />Finally by understanding the above, in our hearts, minds and souls, we don't see our lot as a cup half empty , nor as cup half full, but as a cup overflowing with God's constant benevolence. <br /><br />Thank for the nice D'var Torah.<br />Shalom U'vracha,<br />Your Chaver,<br />Avrael<br />Rabbi Arthur Segal<br /> www.jewishspiritualrenewal.orgRabbi Arthur Segalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03947065948583008845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104942432909993520.post-23216943273620795892011-04-30T08:18:15.378-07:002011-04-30T08:18:15.378-07:00Amazing piece Rabbi. From a small Congregation suc...Amazing piece Rabbi. From a small Congregation such as ours, to the whole world it is sound advice. I have taught my daughter using yet another set of words the same principle. Simply put, Treat others the way you want to be treated. We all need to take a constant inventory of ourselves and our behavior towards others.Jocelynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14591379602667961126noreply@blogger.com