You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall not take revenge or feel resentment against the children of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:17-18)…. When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them. The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the ETERNAL am your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall not take revenge or feel resentment against the children of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:17-18)…. When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them.

The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the ETERNAL am your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

How should we Jews relate to our neighbors? If we are a Jewish state which seeks to live a life based on authentic Jewish values, how shall we treat the Palestinian Arab minority within our society?

We find the answers to these questions in the opening passages from the section in the Book of Leviticus known as the Holiness Code — Parashat K’doshim— which we will read in our synagogues this Shabbat morning in Israel and around the world, along with Parashat Acharei Mot. This section of the Torah begins with the words “You shall be holy” (Lev. 19:2), and goes on to teach us in a very practical way what it means to be “holy” wherever we live, and especially in Israel. These are undoubtedly among the most famous and most relevant passages in the Torah, and indeed, in all of world religions.

A key question that has always interested me is: what is the meaning of the word “neighbor” in the statement “Love your neighbor as yourself.” According to some commentators, the Hebrew word for “neighbor,” rei-acha, refers only to Jews. This view is supported by the context in which the phrase appears in the Torah, which can be translated as follows: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall not take revenge or feel resentment against the children of your people, you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:17-18). Looking carefully at this, it seems clear that “your neighbor” falls into the same category as “your brother” and “the children of your people,” all explicitly referring to one’s fellow Jews.

According to this view, “Love your neighbor........

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