“Favor for Friends Only...” When someone comes over and asks you for a favor, if the person is not necessarily your friend, you may do it, but not as quickly, and you probably won’t be as ecstatic.
But, when a good friend comes over to you and asks you for a favor, usually you’ll answer, yes sure and you’ll be more than glad to do it.
However, we learn that when you do a favor for your enemy, it’s so much greater than if you do the favor for a friend… …because it helps destroy your Yetzer Hara that tells you not to do it for her.
Understanding the Mitzvah of V’ahavta L’reacha Kamocha …In the Negative Form
V’ahavta L’reacha Kamocha…the word “kamocha” translates into “like yourself”.
The Torah teaches us that we are commanded to love others as we love ourselves… we usually understand this to mean that we cannot do to others that which we would not like done to ourselves.
Another way of looking at this mitzvah is from a negative point of view… In fact, this does not mean that we can do something to someone else if the action would not bother us.
Rabbi Castle cites the following example: a person is not bothered by insects, but her friend doesn’t like them. If we put an insect on her, then this action is a violation of the mitzvah.
While there was debate of whether this actually a type of “negative violation” because according to Rabbi Akiva in Parshas Kedoshim, “if one doesn’t mind being disgraced, they may disgrace others”; however according to Ben Azzai, this is in fact a violation of “great principle of the Torah, which requires you to treat others with due respect because he was created in Hashem’s image.”
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the halachos we will be doing is taken from the book, To Live Among Friends, by Rabbi Dovid Castle
“Favor for Friends Only...”
When someone comes over and asks you for a favor, if the person is not necessarily your friend, you may do it, but not as quickly, and you probably won’t be as ecstatic.
But, when a good friend comes over to you and asks you for a favor, usually you’ll answer, yes sure and you’ll be more than glad to do it.
However, we learn that when you do a favor for your enemy, it’s so much greater than if you do the favor for a friend…
…because it helps destroy your Yetzer Hara that tells you not to do it for her.
So everybody keep in mind: during your hour make sure to do favors for people whole heartedly even if they may not be your closest friend!
Understanding the Mitzvah of V’ahavta L’reacha Kamocha
…In the Negative Form
V’ahavta L’reacha Kamocha…the word “kamocha” translates into “like yourself”.
The Torah teaches us that we are commanded to love others as we love ourselves… we usually understand this to mean that we cannot do to others that which we would not like done to ourselves.
Another way of looking at this mitzvah is from a negative point of view… In fact, this does not mean that we can do something to someone else if the action would not bother us.
Rabbi Castle cites the following example: a person is not bothered by insects, but her friend doesn’t like them. If we put an insect on her, then this action is a violation of the mitzvah.
While there was debate of whether this actually a type of “negative violation” because according to Rabbi Akiva in Parshas Kedoshim, “if one doesn’t mind being disgraced, they may disgrace others”; however according to Ben Azzai, this is in fact a violation of “great principle of the Torah, which requires you to treat others with due respect because he was created in Hashem’s image.”
Keep in mind that every Jew is a tzelem Elokim. Therefor you must respect them and try not to do something that you know annoys them.
lei'lu nishmas Tehila Malka bas Ze'ev
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