At the centre of the Mosaic books is Sefer Vayikra. At the centre of Vayikra is the “holiness code” (chapter 19) with its momentous call: “You shall be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” And at the centre of chapter 19 is a brief paragraph which, by its positioning, is the apex, the high point, of the Torah:

Do not hate your brother in your heart. Admonish your fellow and do not bear guilt on his account. Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as your own self. I am the Lord. (Vayikra 19:17-18)

Do not hate your brother in your heart. Admonish your fellow and do not bear guilt on his account. Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as your own self. I am the Lord. (Vayikra 19:17-18)

I want, in this study, to examine the second of these provisions: “Admonish your fellow and do not bear guilt on his account.”

Rambam and Ramban agree in seeing two quite different levels of meaning in this sentence. This is how Rambam puts it:

When one person sins against another, the latter should not hate him and remain silent. As it is said about the wicked: “And Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor evil, although Absalom hated Amnon.” Rather, he is commanded to speak to him and to say to him, “Why did you do such-and-such to me? Why did you sin against me in such-and-such a matter?” As it is said, “You must surely admonish your neighbour.” If he repents and requests forgiveness from him, he must forgive and not be cruel, as it is said, “And Abraham prayed to God . . .” If someone sees his fellow committing a sin or embarking on a path that is not good, it is a commandment to make him return to the good and to make known to him that he is sinning against himself by his evil actions, as it is said, “You must surely admonish your neighbour… (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 6:6)

When one person sins against another, the latter should not hate him and remain silent. As it is said about the wicked: “And Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor evil, although Absalom hated Amnon.” Rather, he is commanded to speak to him and to say to him, “Why did you do such-and-such to me? Why did you sin against me in such-and-such a matter?” As it is said, “You must surely admonish your neighbour.” If he repents and requests forgiveness from him, he must forgive and not be cruel, as it is said, “And Abraham prayed to God . . .”

If someone sees his fellow committing a sin or embarking on a path that is not good, it is a commandment to make him return to the good and to make known to him that he is sinning against himself by his evil actions, as it is said, “You must surely admonish your neighbour… (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 6:6)

‘You shall surely remonstrate with your neighbour’ – this is a separate command, namely that we must teach him the reproof of instruction. “And not bear sin because of him” – for you will bear sin because of his transgression if you do not rebuke him. However, it seems to me that the correct interpretation is that the expression ‘you shall surely remonstrate’ is to be understood in the same way as “And Abraham remonstrated with Avimelech”. The verse is thus saying: ‘Do not hate your brother in your heart when he does something to you against your will, but instead you should remonstrate with him, saying, “Why did you do this to me?” and you will not bear sin because of him by covering up your hatred in your heart and not telling him, for when you remonstrate with him, he will justify himself before you or he will regret his action and admit his sin, and you will forgive him.’ (Ramban to Lev. 19:17)

‘You shall surely remonstrate with your neighbour’ – this is a separate command, namely that we must teach him the reproof of instruction. “And not bear sin because of him” – for you will bear sin because of his transgression if you do not rebuke him.

However, it seems to me that the correct interpretation is that the expression ‘you shall surely remonstrate’ is to be understood in the same way as “And Abraham remonstrated with Avimelech”. The verse is thus saying: ‘Do not hate your brother in your heart when he does something to you against your will, but instead you should remonstrate with him, saying, “Why did you do this to me?” and you will not bear sin because of him by covering up your hatred in your heart and not telling him, for when you remonstrate with him, he will justify himself before you or he will regret his action and admit his sin, and you will forgive him.’ (Ramban to Lev. 19:17)

The difference between the two interpretations is that one is social, the other interpersonal. On Rambam’s second and Ramban’s first reading, the command is about collective responsibility. When we see a fellow Jew about to commit a sin, we must try to persuade him not to do so. We are not allowed to say, “That is a private matter between him and God.” “All Israel,” said the Sages, “are sureties for one another.” We are each responsible, not only for our own conduct, but for the behaviour of others. That is a major chapter in Jewish law and thought.

However, both Rambam and Ramban are aware that this is not the plain sense of the text. Taken in context, what we have before us is a subtle account of the psychology of interpersonal relations.

Judaism has sometimes been accused by Christianity of being about justice rather than love (“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”). This is entirely untrue. There is a wonderful teaching in Avot deRabbi Natan: “Who is the greatest........

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