Love Your Fellow As Your Fellow Needs

The Mitzvah to “love your fellow as yourself,” raises a dilemma. What should you do when your needs are different from your friend’s? If you are thirsty, while your friend is hungry, it would be un-loving to offer him a drink instead of food. If you have time for Torah study while your friend is struggling to make ends meet, it is wrong to help him learn Torah but ignore his need for help earning a livelihood? More

The Mitzvah to “love your fellow as yourself,” raises a dilemma. What should you do when your needs are different from your friend’s? If you are thirsty, while your friend is hungry, it would be un-loving to offer him a drink instead of food. If you have time for Torah study while your friend is struggling to make ends meet, it is wrong to help him learn Torah but ignore his need for help earning a livelihood?

The primary purpose is to love in a manner which unifies both individuals together, and then, in turn, with G-d. When you complement and complete each other, there is true unity. G-d created us all, and needs us all for His plan. We achieve true unity by realizing that we all share a mission – to fulfill G-d’s will.

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