And you shall love your neighbor as yourself

Articles of ethics and strengthening on the commandment of the love of Israel – the virtue of "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself", the power of unity and giving, moving stories about kindness and love of the fellow, explanations of Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory) and words of the giants of Israel on truly loving people.

28th of Iyar 5786 | May 15, 2026 | 12:33

"And You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself, I am HASHEM"

Vayikra (Leviticus) • Parshat Kedoshim • Chapter 19, Verse 18

Look at the "Secondary" (Tafel) to Your Neighbor (Re'acha)

It is brought in the Midrash (Pli’ah): "'And you shall love your neighbor (re'acha)'—the secondary (tafel) to your neighbor." Simply put, the words of the Midrash are without meaning.

A wondrous pearl regarding this is brought in the name of the Admor the "Sar Shalom" of Belz, of blessed memory: The Midrash found difficulty in understanding the Hebrew letter Lamed [meaning "to"] in the commandment "And you shall love to your neighbor (ve-ahavta le-re'acha) as yourself," for seemingly, it would have been enough to say "And you shall love your neighbor (ve-ahavta re'acha) as yourself"? And from here the Midrash expands: "Le-re'acha—the secondary (tafel) to your neighbor." And we still need to understand, what is the meaning of this expansion, and what is its practical significance in practice?

Rather, the verse (Proverbs 27:19) says: "As water reflects a face to a face, so is the heart of man to man." And seemingly, if the wisest of all men wanted to illustrate for us what is "from heart to heart"—he could have used a clearer measure, such as a polished mirror, where the one looking into it sees himself, such that the face he shows to the mirror is reflected back to him exactly from it to him, so why did King Solomon prefer to illustrate this via water?

But this we must know: One who wishes to love his fellow with true love—is forced to humble and lower himself toward his fellow, because if he holds himself as the perfection of virtues in relation to his fellow, it will be difficult for him to truly love his fellow. Such is human nature.

And behold, when a person looks into a mirror, he could stand at his full stature and see himself in it. But by contrast, one who seeks to see his image reflected in water—is forced to lower himself and kneel toward the water, and only thus can he behold his image inside the water.

And if so, King Solomon said: "As water reflects a face to a face, so is the heart of man to man." Just as a person who wants to see his face in water is forced to bend his stature—so is the heart of man to man, that if he wishes to love his fellow with a complete heart, he is forced to submit and humble himself toward his fellow!

And the Rabbi, the "Sar Shalom," concludes with a wondrous thing that will be revealed to one who contemplates the verse before us: Behold, the letters that come after [in the alphabet] the letters of the word Re'acha (רעך) (that is to say the Hebrew for "your neighbor") are Shin, Pei, and Lamed, spelling out the Hebrew word: Shafal (שפל—lowly/humble). After the Resh (ר) is Shin (ש), after the Ayin (ע) is Pei (פ), after the Kaf (ך) is Lamed (ל). Which is to say, that this is the trait required for one who wants to fulfill the commandment of "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself"!

How wonderful according to this, is the intention of the Midrash: The Holy Torah hints at a wonderful piece of advice on the way to fulfilling the commandment "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself," and it is: "the secondary (tafel) to your neighbor," meaning: Look at the letters that are "secondary/consecutive" to Re'acha (רעך), and you will get the word Shafal (שפל—humble), to teach you that if you humble and submit yourself toward your neighbor—then you will be able to love him!

That He Shall Love His Wife as His Body

Our teacher Rabbi Chaim Vital, of blessed and holy memory, in the Sefer HaLikutim (Parshat Ekev, Chapter 8) wrote, that the entire main purpose of marriage does not come except in order to fulfill through it this commandment of "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself," that he shall love his wife as his own body. For it is extremely difficult to love every single man of Israel "as yourself." And therefore one must begin the commandment with the people of his house who are close to him, so that he will accustom himself in the matter—not to love only himself, see there.

A Wonderful Story to Understand the Verse "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself"

Once there was a wealthy tycoon whose wife traveled to a distant country for highly expensive medical treatments. Although she equipped herself with a large sum of money, after a few weeks it became clear to her that the money was completely insufficient and did not meet the demands. In addition to this, several other medical treatments developed which it was discovered she needed. In total, she was urgently in need of an additional sum of about fifty thousand rubles, which was a vast fortune in those days.

The woman sat and wrote a letter to her husband about her pressing situation, and requested him to send the large sum immediately, so that it would suffice for all her expenses there.

In those days—before the era of 'postal checks' and foreign currency wire transfers in international banks, Visa cards, and Isracard, and all such things—the matter of transferring money to another country was not at all among the easy things. From the start, one had to wait until a passing 'tourist' was found traveling to that same country. This waiting itself took a long time, since very few were those traveling from country to country, and particularly to the more distant countries, considering the difficult and complex conditions of medieval travel... Thus, except for a few travelers who loved to hold the wanderer's staff, there were not found many people who would desire to go out on journeys such as these.

After a person traveling to that same country was already found, again one needed to clarify well the measure of the man's reliability, if it is possible to rely upon him. Not once did business deals such as these fall into the hands of messengers who were impostors, who took all the money into their pocket, and fled and disappeared as if the earth swallowed them.

And once the trustworthy man was already found, who would be willing to take upon himself the responsibility for the transfer of the funds, this latter one would demand as his payment an astronomical and peppered [exorbitant] sum, and would take down for himself a respectable slice in large percentages from the shipment, due to the size of the responsibility and the heavy yoke that is in the work.

When the wealthy man received the letter to his hand, he began immediately with feverish searches after a trustworthy messenger traveling to that distant country, who would be willing to transfer an immense sum such as this of fifty thousand rubles. After he clarified and searched deeply and well, it came into his hand with heavenly assistance to find a trustworthy messenger, well-known and accepted, traveling exactly to that same country. He met with him and requested him to harness himself to this task of high standing, and to immediately transfer the money to his wife who is beyond the sea.

The messenger agreed in principle to take upon himself the shipment of the money with full responsibility, but a problem not small popped up before their approaching the signing of the contract. When the messenger heard the wage that the wealthy man was offering for the trouble, he did not agree to it in any manner – he was known as a particularly expensive courier! He utilized, as a matter of course, the fact that it is very difficult to find responsible couriers in this field, and that the people are more pressed for the immediate transfer of the money, and he allowed himself to raise the price of the slice of percentages that he would take down for himself for the deal.

Even after the wealthy man raised the wage up to a thousand rubles, the man still claimed that the responsibility and the heavy yoke that is in the guarding of an immense sum such as this on the roads – are worth more than this. And as much as the wealthy man tried to persuade him, and to raise his wage more and more, he still insisted that this was not worthwhile for him...

When he saw – the wealthy man – that they were not managing to agree on the price, he offered him suddenly a wonderful and unique proposal: "Take then the envelope of the money in your hand, and give to my wife from it as much as you want!!! – more than this the agent already could not expect, and of course he closed with him on the spot the deal." The wealthy man signed with him an explicit deed, a written and sealed contract, in which it was said explicitly, that the wealthy man sends with this an envelope of fifty thousand rubles by the hand of this messenger, and the messenger shall give from it to the woman as much as he wants!

The messenger rejoiced very much over the great bargain that fell into his portion, he arrived quickly to that same country, and according to the address that was in his hand he found the woman, opened before her the envelope, and showed her the written and signed contract by the hand of her husband, in which it was said explicitly, that he shall give her from within the envelope whatever sum he wants. "If so then," the messenger dramatically informs the woman, "I want for myself forty-eight thousand rubles! And to you I will give two thousand rubles alone..."

The woman was astounded and completely confused, what is happening here? How can this be? Is she not desperately in need of the large sum of the money! How did her clever husband leave in the hand of this messenger the decision to determine the amount of percentages that he would transfer to her?

She did not know – the woman – [what to do to satisfy] her soul, and she invited the messenger to come with her to a judgment of Torah before the Rabbi of the city. The messenger agreed to go to a judgment of Torah, being secure and confident in his power and in his right. He appeared in the room of the court that is in the house of the Rabbi with confident and peaceful steps, pulled out from his pocket the contract of the agreement written and signed by the hand of the husband, and placed it upon the table.

After the Rabbi checked the validity of the deed and the reliability of the man, and everything was found proper, and indeed so wrote the husband explicitly in black on white: "Give her as much as you want."

The riddle was here sealed [completely mysterious] to the utmost, why would a wise man do a foolishness such as this, to leave the determination of the amount of the gift in the hand of the messenger, when it is clear that he will take the decisive majority to himself... What is hidden here behind the story of this? And what is the meaning of this strange deed?

After the Rabbi and the judges did not find any answer to the sealed riddle before them, the Rabbi requested to leave with him the contract and the envelope of the money, in order to delve into this complex judgment, and to return to him the next day, and then he would rule for them a judgment of truth.

The next day, when the sides returned to the house of judgment, in order to hear the ruling of judgment, the Rabbi asked the messenger again: "How much do you want exactly?" The messenger answered: "Forty-eight thousand rubles! And the rest – two thousand rubles – give to the woman!"

The Rabbi ruled to him with a victorious smile: "Extract then please that sum which you want, forty-eight thousand rubles good and heavy, and give to the woman! Did not the husband write explicitly in the deed before us: 'Give her as much as you want.' That is to say, that same sum which you want for yourself, this is the sum which you must give to the woman!!!"

The moral learned from here is: the form of the correct fulfillment of the commandment "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself" is: give to the second that which you want and desire for yourself. (To delight in your love).

"That which is hateful to you - to your fellow do not do"

The Rambam wrote (Chapter 6 from Hilchot De'ot, Halacha 3 it is a commandment upon every person, to love each and every one of Israel as his own body. As it is said: "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Therefore, one needs to speak in his praise, and to have pity on his money just as he has pity on his own money, and wants for the honor of himself. And the one who honors himself through the disgrace of his fellow, has no portion in the World to Come.

Maran Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka Zt"l, in his book "Kol Yehuda" – brought the words of the Rabbi (author of) "Arvei Nachal" on the verse "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself," because seemingly it is impossible to explain the verse according to its plain meaning, for how can a person love his fellow like he loves himself? And therefore, the Targum [Aramaic translation] wrote to explain: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to him." That is to say, by way of the negative: what you do not want that they should do to you, do not do to your fellow. Every person wants that they should not deceive him in commerce, in work, and in everything. And therefore, he too should not deceive his fellow and should not despise him, and should not speak about him lashon hara [evil speech], just as he does not want that they should speak about him.

And behold, in the Gemara Shabbat (31a) they said: A story occurred with a certain gentile who came before Shammai, he said to him: Convert me on the condition that you teach me the entire Torah all of it when I am standing on one foot. He pushed him away with the builder's measuring rod that was in his hand. He came before Hillel, he converted him. He said to him: "That which is hateful to you, to your fellow do not do – this is the entire Torah all of it, and the rest – is its explanation, go and learn."

And Rashi explained: "That which is hateful to you, to your fellow do not do," [quoting Proverbs 27:10] "Your neighbor and the neighbor of your father do not abandon" – this is the Holy One, blessed be He. Do not transgress His words, for it is hateful to you when a companion of yours transgresses your words. Another interpretation: your fellow literally, such as theft, robbery, adultery, and the majority of the commandments.

And the Maharsha there wrote: And this is what is written in the Torah: "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." And there is [room] to delve into this, for although he said it to him in the language of Targum [the language of Aramaic], for such was their language then in Jerusalem, nevertheless, why did he change to say it to him in the language of negation: "that which is hateful to you"? And behold, the translation of the language of the verse should have been to say: "and you shall love your fellow like yourself" – like the translation of Onkelos. And it is possible to say, because it was implied to him that the verse does not speak except in this manner, for behold it speaks about the negative commandment adjacent to it: "You shall not take vengeance and you shall not bear a grudge," and upon this it said: "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." That you shall not do to him evil from all that is hateful upon you, but regarding doing to him good, it did not say "and you shall love," for behold they said: Your life takes precedence over the life of your brother. Until here is the (translated) quote.

And the Rabbi Eitz Yosef in his commentary on "Ein Yaakov" (there) wrote: See Rashi, to your fellow do not do, such as theft, robbery, adultery. And he questioned in the book Iyei HaYam (Edel, Shabbat 31 sign 19), because according to this explanation –the rest of the words of the Torah are not dealt with by this matter (by this answer of Hillel)? And my heart says to me, that what Rashi wrote such as theft, robbery, and adultery and the majority of the commandments, this is not an explanation on "to your fellow do not do," rather it is an explanation "and the rest," namely, theft, robbery, and the majority of the commandments.

And the Rabbi "Anaf Yosef" there wrote: And it is puzzling, this man who wanted to convert and to take refuge in the shadow of the Shechinah, what led him to this foolishness to request to learn all the Torah on one foot? Since surely the rest of Torah is not an empty thing. And also what Hillel responded to him: "and the rest go and learn," if so, the condition has still not been fulfilled?

Rather the explanation is, that behold there is no capability for one to fulfill all the 613 commandments, unless each one benefits from that of his fellow, meaning, that when there is love between them, then their commandments belong to one another, and thus each one can fulfill all the commandments. And furthermore there is a remedy, that anyone who occupies himself with the portion of the Olah [burnt offering] it is as if etc., and if so, all the commandments he can fulfill by means of occupying himself in the halacha of that same commandment. And similarly, he can fulfill [all the Torah] by means of returning to the world through reincarnation.

And this is what the convert requested "teach me all the Torah on one foot," he means to say at one time, so that he will not need to suffer reincarnation. And he told him that he should do so, by means of "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself," because since there is love between him and Israel – he is considered like one body in the fulfillment of the commandments.

And the Rabbi (author of) Ein Yaakov wrote: And he did not want to learn with him "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself," because this is the root of acts of loving-kindness, and they [gentiles] are not performers of acts of loving-kindness and he would refrain from converting because of this.

And similarly to this answered the Rabbi the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Shaul Natanzon author of "HaSho'el U'Meshiv" in his book "Divrei Shaul" on the Torah: I heard from the group of the Chassidim of Kotzk, and they arrived at it by quoting the Holy Rabbi author of the Chiddushei HaRim zy"a: A gentile is not capable of understanding the level of "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself" by way of the positive, this level is too much for him, he can understand not to distress and do evil to the second, this is still grasped in his intellect...

While the Holy Rabbi of Gur author of the Beis Yisrael , zy"a answered simply on the question of the Maharsha, that behold they said in the Gemara Chagigah (13.), that it is forbidden to teach a gentile Torah, therefore they translated for him the scripture in Aramaic.

And now we will return to the continuation of the words of my master and teacher (author of the) Kol Yehuda: And furthermore he mentioned the Rabbi, (author of the book) Arvei Nachal, that the philosopher Plato said, that the definition of love is not possible except where there is an opposite thing, such as when the earth is thirsty for water, every drop of water is received with love by the earth. And so every opposite thing. However, Aristotle mocked him and said: to this, love will not be called, because that which the earth receives the water with love, this is not because it loves the water, rather because it loves itself. However, the primary true love, is that a person should love his fellow who is similar to him, when he does not attain from him any benefit and does not need him, and with all this he loves him, this is the definition of the true love. And with this they explained "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself," meaning, a neighbor who is similar to you and you love him – this is true love.

To Feel the Other Person as Flesh of His Flesh

This short commandment—"And you shall love your neighbor as yourself," folds within it our entire Holy Torah. And as the Tanna Rabbi Akiva established and said: "This is a great principle in the Torah." And even Hillel the Elder, when that gentile came before him and asked him to teach him the entire Torah all of it on one foot, Hillel answered him: "De-alach sani le-chavrach la ta'aveid—zu hi kol ha-Torah ve-idach zil gemor" [What is hateful to you, to your fellow do not do—this is the whole Torah]. The deep identification and the immense love that must be felt toward each and every one of Israel is emphasized in the word Kamocha (as yourself). Upon the person rests the obligation to feel and perceive the other, as a bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.

And Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi said, that love of Israel is greater than love of HASHEM. For one who loves a Jew, loves the one whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, loves, as it is written (Malachi 1:2): "'I have loved you,' says HASHEM." And to love the one whom the beloved loves, behold, this is greater than the love of the beloved himself...

To Love Even One Who Does You Harm

The commentators wrote on the text in our Torah portion: "And you shall love le're'acha", why did they use the expression re'acha [your neighbor/fellow, which shares two Hebrew letters, Reish and Ayin with the word  the Hebrew word, ra - bad/evil], and not yedidcha [your beloved], or chavercha [your friend]? Rather, when the beloved does good—there is no novelty at all that he loves him, and when is (the Biblical phrase) "and you shall love" fulfilled? When he is re'acha—meaning, he is a "bad" man, who embitters your life and your peace of mind from his coming until his going. And why all this? Because "I am Hashem." Just as the primary virtue of faith and cleaving to the Creator, blessed be He, is specifically in times of concealment, when one does not see the conduct of goodness with him. For at a time of the shining of the countenance and the revelation of love, there is not such a great novelty to believe in Him. But at a time of concealment, then he will have faith that from Him evil does not emerge, and everything is for the good. And similarly, you should look at your fellow when he is re'acha—who does you harm. And then, when you love him, this is a virtue like no other.

And our Sages further expounded, if "and you shall love le're'acha"—that you also love and honor one who does you harm, then—"like you, I am Hashem," and just as you love him even though he does you harm, so I will behave with you, that if Heaven forbid you transgress the commandments and do Me harm, so to speak, I will love you and fulfill your will for good.

The Will of Rabbi Eliezer

At the time of the death of Rabbi Eliezer, his disciples entered to him. He said to them: Go out and be careful, each man with the honor of his fellow, and at the time that you pray, know before whom you stand, for because of this matter you will enter into the life of the World to Come. (Kallah Rabbati, Chapter 6).

Loving the Omnipresent? Loving People!

"And you shall love le're'acha Kamocha" is written, and not "et re'acha". For the Torah did not command to love the personality of his fellow, because this is a thing that is impossible, this is a thing which is placed in the soul, as is said (I Samuel 18:1): "And the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David," and few are the people who are knit in the bonds of love. Rather, our holy Torah requests from the person, that he should love that which has relevance to his fellow, and it is to rejoice in the good of his fellow, and to be pained by his harm just as he would rejoice in his own good, (and) according to the suffering he is pained when he himself experiences pain.

And this thing, the Torah demands of us to do even regarding a person to whom we have no intrinsic love. For the complete person cannot rejoice at a time when it is good for him, if he knows that right now his neighbor is placed in pain. And this is why the text concludes: "I am Hashem," meaning the Omnipresent, blessed be He, asks this from us, that we should love the good of His people like our own good. And so Chazal said (Avot Chapter 6, Mishna 1) "One who loves the Omnipresent loves the people," for this is dependent upon this. And the one who loves the people—it is as if he loves Hashem, may He be Blessed. (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, brought in the book Musar Chachamim. And in the book Ahavat Yisrael, Greiver page 34).

The Entire Torah is Connected to (the Relationship) Between Man and His Fellow

"What is hateful to you, to your fellow do not do." The Genius Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, of blessed memory, wondered, how is it possible to include the entire Torah all of it in the saying of Hillel—what is hateful to you, to your fellow do not do? Is it true that also the commandments that are between man and the Omnipresent are included in it?!

Rather, the truth is, that all parts of the Torah have a connection with the commandments that are between man and his fellow. For the Gemara says (Kiddushin 40b) a person should always see himself as if he is half guilty and half meritorious, (if he) performed one commandment—happy is he for he tipped himself to the scale of merit, transgressed one transgression woe to him for he tipped himself and the entire world all of it to the scale of guilt. It turns out, that by one action of his, he impacts the collective, and if so everything depends on between man and his fellow. (Musar Chachamim).

The Main Part of Love—Needs to be Through Torah

Rabbi Akiva said this is a great principle in the Torah. The reason he added to say "in the Torah." Because he came to teach, that it is not specifically that he shall love his fellow in matters of physicality, such as that he shall do kindness with him and lend him money. Rather, the main part of love needs to be through Torah, that he shall study with him Torah and ethics (musar) and fear of HASHEM, Yitbarach, and this is the main part of love. (Torat Moshe of the Chatam Sofer).

The Kindness That Saved

It is told about a mother who brought her daughter money to buy candies for her school field trip. The girl woke up in the morning, and went to the 'Super' [grocery store] to buy snacks. On her way to the cash register, she saw a boy crying, and she asked him what happened? He said to her: I am missing money for cheese and milk. Without thinking twice, she gave him the money, the boy was very happy and thanked her immensely. But now the girl debated what she would tell her mother when she returned empty-handed... What did she do? She went and took newspapers and put them in her schoolbag, so that her mother would think that it was filled with candies … When she returned home, her mother asked her what she bought, the girl was very embarrassed, and with a trembling hand her mother opened the schoolbag, and saw it was full of newspapers! The mother was very angry with her, thinking she took the money for purposes that are not positive.

The girl began to cry, and did not want to tell her mother what she had done. As a result of what happened, she left the house late, and realized that she did not catch the bus for the trip. With no choice, and due to the shame from her mother, the girl went to a nearby playground and passed her time there. A few hours passed, and behold, the mother hears on the news that a bus full of girls that was on its way to a field trip was involved in a severe accident, and many of the girls were injured, let these sufferings not come upon us. The mother began to cry and scream, realizing that this was the bus her daughter was supposed to be on, she called the teachers and the principal, but there was no answer.

The girl who heard the screams from the house, ran quickly to her home, opened the door and asked her mother what happened? The mother, who was in shock, jumped onto her daughter, hugged her and kissed her. The mother asked her: how did you get here? The daughter said to her, because of what happened in the morning, I was late and missed the bus. The mother said to them: now I know that everything was for the best, tell me why you didn't buy yourself candies? The girl told her about the kindness she did in the morning, and only then did both of them understand, that this kindness was what saved her from the terrible danger.

The heart of a Jew – is full of giving. And therefore 'Chesed' [Kindness] in Gematria is 72, and also 'Lev Yehudi' [A Jewish Heart] equals 72 in Gematria. That we may be privileged to always be among the givers and not among the receivers.

"Better that I should die and not see the death of my friend"

It is written in the book "Irin Kadishin" (on our Torah portion), a parable of two lovers whose souls were bound together in great love, and they were far from one another. One time, a false accusation was brought against one of them, and his judgment was finalized to be executed, and it was announced that all the citizens of the country should come to watch. And behold, this lover came, and upon seeing him, cried out in a loud voice: Release him! I am the one who committed this injustice, and not my friend. However, the one on trial cried out conversely: Not so, rather I am the guilty one and not he.

The judgment reached the king, and he called them to ask about the truth of the matter, for surely only one of them did the deed, and if so, why would his friend desire to die for nothing? And then he replied: I know that my friend did no wrong whatsoever, for I know his temperament and essence that it is impossible for him to do so. And since it is just a false accusation, and since my life is dependent on the life of my friend, better that I should die and not see the death of my friend, for surely I deserve death for the punishment that is due to come to my friend. And like these words, the friend also replied to the king.

When the king saw the love between them, the king then pardoned them, and requested of them: among lovers such as you, I also desire that you shall enter me into your love, and I will be a lover like this to you.

So too is the matter, when you reach the level of "and you shall love your fellow as yourself", then "I am Hashem" – I request to dwell among you so that you will love Me too, and I will also be a faithful lover to you.

What is the "Klal HaKatan" [The Small Rule]?

In the book Yesod Tzadik (page 15b) it is brought, that once the holy Rabbi, Rabbi Shlomke of Zvhil, may his merit protect us, turned to his attendant the genius Rabbi Eliyahu Rotta, of blessed memory, and asked him regarding the explanation of the words of Rabbi Akiva (Torat Kohanim, Parshat Kedoshim): "and you shall love your fellow as yourself – this is a great rule in the Torah", if it is a great rule, it is a sign that there is also a small rule, and what then is the small rule? Rabbi Eliyahu remained silent, and waited to hear from the mouth of the Rabbi.

The Rabbi continued and said to him: The explanation of the matter is this. If you hear that an etrog merchant made a profit in the etrog trade of an enormous sum, then the small rule is, that your eye should not be narrow [envious] of his profit, for "that which is hateful to you do not do to your fellow" (Shabbat 31a). Whereas the great rule is, that not only will you not feel pain over his profit, but you will even rejoice in these earnings just as you rejoice when you yourself earn them. And this is the great rule – and you shall love your fellow as yourself!...