(1) For the leader. Of David. A psalm. O God of my praise, do not keep aloof, (2) for the wicked and the deceitful open their mouth against me; they speak to me with lying tongue. (3) They encircle me with words of hate; they attack me without cause. (4) They answer my love with accusation and I must stand judgment [SR alternative: And I remain a prayer]. (5) They repay me with evil for good, with hatred for my love. (6) Appoint a wicked man over him; may an accuser stand at his right side; (7) may he be tried and convicted; may he be judged and found guilty. (8) May his days be few; may another take over his position. (9) May his children be orphans, his wife a widow. (10) May his children wander from their hovels, begging in search of [bread]. (11) May his creditor seize all his possessions; may strangers plunder his wealth. (12) May no one show him mercy; may none pity his orphans; (13) may his posterity be cut off; may their names be blotted out in the next generation. (14) May God be ever mindful of his father’s iniquity, and may the sin of his mother not be blotted out. (15) May the LORD be aware of them always and cause their names to be cut off from the earth, (16) because he was not minded to act kindly, and hounded to death the poor and needy man, one crushed in spirit. (17) He loved to curse—may a curse come upon him! He would not bless—may blessing be far from him! (18) May he be clothed in a curse like a garment, may it enter his body like water, his bones like oil. (19) Let it be like the cloak he wraps around him, like the belt he always wears. (20) May the LORD thus repay my accusers, all those who speak evil against me. (21) Now You, O God, my Lord, act on my behalf as befits Your name. Good and faithful as You are, save me. (22) For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me. (23) I fade away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like locusts. (24) My knees give way from fasting; my flesh is lean, has lost its fat. (25) I am the object of their scorn; when they see me, they shake their head. (26) Help me, O LORD, my God; save me in accord with Your faithfulness, (27) that men may know that it is Your hand, that You, O LORD, have done it. (28) Let them curse, but You bless; let them rise up, but come to grief, while Your servant rejoices. (29) My accusers shall be clothed in shame, wrapped in their disgrace as in a robe. (30) My mouth shall sing much praise to the LORD; I will acclaim Him in the midst of a throng, (31) because He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who would condemn him.

(18) You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your fellow [Israelite] as yourself: I am יהוה.

The Sages taught: There was an incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai. The gentile said to Shammai: How many Torahs do you have? He said to him: Two, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. The gentile said to him: With regard to the Written Torah, I believe you, but with regard to the Oral Torah, I do not believe you. Convert me on condition that you will teach me only the Written Torah. Shammai scolded him and cast him out with reprimand. The same gentile came before Hillel, who converted him and began teaching him Torah. On the first day, he showed him the letters of the alphabet and said to him: Alef, bet, gimmel, dalet. The next day he reversed the order of the letters and told him that an alef is a tav and so on. The convert said to him: But yesterday you did not tell me that. Hillel said to him: You see that it is impossible to learn what is written without relying on an oral tradition. Didn’t you rely on me? Therefore, you should also rely on me with regard to the matter of the Oral Torah, and accept the interpretations that it contains. There was another incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai and said to Shammai: Convert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot. Shammai pushed him away with the builder’s cubit in his hand. This was a common measuring stick and Shammai was a builder by trade. The same gentile came before Hillel. He converted him and said to him: That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation [SR note: commentary]. Go study. ... The Gemara relates: Eventually, the three converts gathered together in one place, and they said: Shammai’s impatience sought to drive us from the world; Hillel’s patience brought us beneath the wings of the Divine Presence.

ואהבת לרעך כמוך THOU SHALT LOVE THY FELLOW MAN AS THYSELF —Rabbi Akiba said: “This is a fundamental principle of the Torah” (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 4 12; Talmud Yerushalmi Nedarim 9:3).

4) "shall be to you the stranger that lives among you. And you shall love him as yourself." Just as it is written of Jews (Vayikra 19:18) "and you shall love your fellow as yourself," so is it written of proselytes "and you shall love him as yourself." "for you were strangers in the land of Egypt": Know the soul of the strangers, for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt."

12) "You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the children of your people": You may take revenge of and bear a grudge against others (idolators). "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself": R. Akiva says: This is an all-embracing principle in the Torah. Ben Azzai says: (Bereshith 5:1) "This is the numeration of the generations of Adam" — This is an even greater principle.

But words of hatred surrounded me from outside, not in my face, and soon they would fight me for nothing, for I was not violent, all the nations are fighting against me, to destroy, to kill, and to be lost [SR note: See Esther 3:13 and 8:11; lost as in there would be no more Jews].

Rabbi Akiva says that the verse should be understood as follows: If one studied Torah in his youth he should study more Torah in his old age; if he had students in his youth he should have additional students in his old age, as it is stated: “In the morning sow your seed, etc.” They said by way of example that Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land that stretched from Gevat to Antipatris in Judea, and they all died in one period of time, because they did not treat each other with respect. And the world was desolate of Torah until Rabbi Akiva came to our Rabbis in the South and taught his Torah to them. This second group of disciples consisted of Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua. And these are the very ones who upheld the study of Torah at that time. Although Rabbi Akiva’s earlier students did not survive, his later disciples were able to transmit the Torah to future generations. With regard to the twelve thousand pairs of Rabbi Akiva’s students, the Gemara adds: It is taught that all of them died in the period from Passover until Shavuot. Rav Ḥama bar Abba said, and some say it was Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin: They all died a bad death. The Gemara inquires: What is it that is called a bad death? Rav Naḥman said: Diphtheria. Rav Mattana said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, who said that one must attempt to have more children even if he has already fulfilled the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply.