On the commandment of rebuke and the prohibition of hatred
Regarding the commandment to prove your case, it seems from the verse in which it appears that the literal meaning of the verse differs from its sagely interpretation. The verse says: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, you shall not rebuke your brother, and you shall not bear his sin against him.” It seems to me that the literal meaning is that it is forbidden to hate your friend, and if your friend has wronged you in any way, you should confront him and rebuke him for it, and not keep it to yourself (“do not bear a grudge against him” = do not tolerate his sin against you in silence), otherwise you will end up hating him in your heart. This also connects with the verse that follows (“do not rise up and do not rebuke”). I asked if this is really the literal meaning of the verse? And if so, why did the Sages expand the mitzvah beyond the literal meaning to include all types of sin? The sins and not just the sins committed against me?
Maimonides truly writes that the prohibition is not hatred but rather harboring hatred in the heart, and its origin is probably in the language of the verse.
If this is indeed the plain meaning of the verse (I am not sure, because there are verses that bring two separate prohibitions that are not dependent on the same verse), then there is a prohibition in this as well, and the sermon only adds to it. Regarding “and you shall not bear sin upon him,” I do not think this is the plain meaning. To bear sin upon him is not to tolerate his sin in silence. And perhaps this is what caused the Sages to demand the verse as they did.
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