And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Hey Rabbi, I wrote this in the group, I want to know what you think.. Tough question.
: Does loving another person more than yourself or giving to another more than yourself have a problem with “do not add” on the part of “love your neighbor as yourself” since it is not said more than yourself… and perhaps even loving another more than yourself has an aspect of nullifying the commandment since it is no longer like you. Question… Maybe one should increase self-love and from this rise to love for the other, and then in a way that is permissible?
Is the self-denial of another in the sense that one loves the other more at all because of the evil inclination?
Is this making the other a supreme value?
And maybe this is the reason why it is said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord,” which is to emphasize not to exaggerate and turn the other into a scapegoat? After all, the halacha recognizes that if two people are walking in the desert without water, one should prefer to save oneself first and not give him his water.
Do not add belongs where the Torah has set a limit. But if you interpret that the Torah only set a lower limit, there is no do not add here. Giving charity more than the fifth is not do not add. Studying Torah more than a day in the morning and evening is not do not add. Now the question is whether the Torah says to love as I do or to love at least as I do. Simply put, the second is correct.
In your opinion, does “love your neighbor as yourself” mean that it is forbidden to love more than yourself? Completely unreasonable. Find out that it is meant to be stricter, not easier. It is a do (to love) and not a no (not to love too much).
This is of course related to the dispute between Ben Petura and the Rabbis (regarding two who walked in the desert. The Rabbi you mentioned this), but in my opinion there is no connection. The discussion there is about the importance of life and the obligation to care for it. Beyond that, even with Ben Petura, not everyone agrees that it is obligatory to drink yourself. Some have interpreted it as your right but not an obligation (it is permissible to share).
Thank you.
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