(9) When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. (10) You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the LORD am your God. (11) You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another. (12) You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD. (13) You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning. (14) You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the LORD. (15) You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kinsman fairly. (16) Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the LORD. (17) You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. (18) You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow human being as yourself: I am the LORD.
It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor,
Would you be mine? Could you be mine?
It? s a neighborly day in this beautywood,
A neighborly day for a beauty,
Would you be mine? Could you be mine?
I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you,
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.
So let' s make the most of this beautiful day,
Since we're together, we might as well say,
Would you be mine? Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Won' t you please, won' t you please,
Please won't you be my neighbor?
(Fred Rogers)
(2) love to your fellowman as yourself Many people have said that the lamed is superfluous (The Hebrew literally says "Love to your fellow...). In my opinion, however, it contributes to the verse’s meaning. One must love the good that pertains to one’s fellowman as much as one loves the good that pertains to oneself.
(א) ואהבת לרעך כמוך אהוב בעד רעך מה שהיית אוהב בעדך אם היית מגיע למקומו...
Chizkuni
It is impossible for human beings to love a fellow person the same way we love ourselves. It is possible to love things that belong to another person as much as you love the things that are your own. You’re supposed to put yourself mentally into the position of your fellow human being, and not to do anything to him/her you would not have others do to you. And you should care as much to help him/her as you would hope others would help you.
Haketav Ve'hakabalah
‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ means that all the good and kindness a person decides and expects he/she should receive from another, he/she should give to his/her ‘neighbor’, which means every person.
Malbim
We should do as much as possible for the benefit of our friend, whether for his/her friend’s health, to save his/her friend’s property, the same way he/she would try for him/herself…The philosophers explain that the fundamental rule that’s the source of all wisdom about character is that anything that we do should be done for all. This means if we want something evil to happen to our friend instead of offering him/her help, we should calculate if we want this way of thinking to be the general way of things…And for sure no one wants another person to suffer so that he/she him/herself can benefit. If I can help someone and I don’t, I’ll need to decide whether I’m comfortable that no one is going to ever help me…
Shadal: Samuel David Luzzato (19th c.)
…And Moses Mendelssohn interpreted it as "You shall love your fellow in all the ways of love that you love yourself," equal in quality of love and not in its quantity, whenever there is no conflict between two beloved things. However, that's similar to the trait of someone from Sodom (what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours [Pirkei Avot 5:10]), for how can I benefit my fellow without causing myself loss or effort, light or heavy? For there will always be a conflict between my benefit and other people's benefit, and there is no way to give a perutah to my friend without losing a perutah from my pocket.
(י) אַרְבַּע מִדּוֹת בָּאָדָם. הָאוֹמֵר שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלָּךְ, זוֹ מִדָּה בֵינוֹנִית. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, זוֹ מִדַּת סְדוֹם. שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלְּךָ וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלִּי, עַם הָאָרֶץ. שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלְּךָ וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלָּךְ, חָסִיד. שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלִּי, רָשָׁע:
(10) There are four types of character in human beings:One that says: “mine is mine, and yours is yours”: this is a commonplace type; and some say this is a S'dom-type of character. [One that says:] “mine is yours and yours is mine”: is an unlearned person (am haaretz); [One that says:] “mine is yours is yours is yours” is a pious person. [One that says:] “mine is mine, and yours is mine” is a wicked person.
Quoted from Joseph Telushkin A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 2:
Telushkin (Ethics 2, p. 13)
If people consistently react to the sufferings of others with the same intensity with which they react to their own…we would soon find ourselves, and all humanity, in a permanent state of depression.
It is only when love is defined in terms of behavior that people can be offered practical guidance in how to treat others.
Baal Shem Tov – In Telushkin (Ethics 2, p. 14)
Just as we love ourselves despite the faults we know we have, so we should love our fellows despite the faults we see in them.