"You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord," (Leviticus 19:17).
I chose this verse because it is something that humanity has continually struggled with. Especially now, hate is strong throughout the world and there is violence and injustice due to people not being able to see past their differences. This is something that not only Jews, but the entire world, should take into consideration. Without all this sinat chinam, senseless hatred, the world would be a place where people could coexist and theoretically have peace. I interpret this as not everyone getting along, but perhaps just an individual making an effort. While world peace, acceptance, and tolerance would be perfect in theory, unfortunately, the chances of this actually happening are next to nothing. As a Jew today, I could think of this more, taking it into consideration daily. For myself, I could think of this more daily, be more patient as to not cause disagreements.
This is a picture of an alley in Florentine, Tel Aviv. It looked beautiful an relates to this quote. Here, one might just see a regular alley. However, I am choosing to interpret it as taking a new path. Just as we are commanded to love our fellow as ourselves, we must take a new path and not hold a grudge. Hating our kinsmen and holding grudges would steer anyone down the wrong path and for Jews, demolish the fence we have built around our Torah. We are commanded to build a fence and protect our ways and values, in this sense, looking past the differences and not holding grudges. If we do not take new paths and if we continue to hate those around us, we will never be led to someplace new, a place where we can try to love our fellows as ourselves.
Amanda, you are wise beyond your years. I loved how you connected this mitzvah with sinat chinam and brought in both the macro and micro elements of how it could be expressed. As Hillel said, "“That which is hateful unto you do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole of the Torah, The rest is commentary. Go forth and study.”"
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