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On this Shabbat, days after Yom HaShoah and before Yom HaZikaron, it is fitting that we read the first of the two parshiot of Acharei Mot-Kedoshim (“following the death of the martyrs”). The haftarah, however, reflects tomorrow’s arrival of Rosh Chodesh Iyar with the story related in the 20th perek of Shmuel A. The well-known episode relates the difficult trial, a test of faithfulness for both David and his dear friend (and brother-in-law) Yonatan, the son of King Shaul.
When the sages, in our double Torah portion of
Acharei Mot-Kedoshim this week, addressed the classic Jewish commandment to âLove your fellow as yourselfâ (Leviticus 19:18), they wondered: How is it possible to require that we can love others as much as we love ourselves?Â
Rabbi Baruch Halevi Epstein (1860-1941), best known for his commentary âTorah Temimah (The Perfect Torah),â based on a teaching of Maimonides, says we are enjoined to treat our fellow human beings with honor and respect. Maimonides writes: âEach man is commanded to love each and every one of Israel as himself, as the verse states.âÂ
In âThe Metsudah: Chumash/Rashiâ by Rabbi Avrohom Davis, the translation follows virtually every other ChumashI am familiar with, but it adds, like Maimonides, âYou shall love your fellow [Jew] as yourself.â This begs the question: Does the Torah confine this love to just Jews or all of humankind? Â
Expanding the Orthodox tent to include gay and lesbian Jews (Parshat Acharei Mot - Kedoshim) | Kenneth Brander timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.