Acharei-Kedoshim: The Holiness of Love
Dear readers,
Most buses and trains have small signs identifying a few convenient seats as reserved for elderly and handicapped people and others who need to sit. I like to believe that, as conscientious denizens of the planet, most of us try our best to give up our seat for those who need it more. After all, that is what people do.
I remember my pleasant surprise upon discovering that Israeli buses also have reserved seats, but there the little signs simply have a quote from this week’s Torah reading: “You shall rise up before the aged.” The second half of the verse, not found on the placard, reads, “And you shall fear your G‑d, I am the L‑rd.” In other words, giving your seat on the subway is not just doing right to your fellow man (or woman); it is doing right to G‑d.
To paraphrase the Baal Shem Tov, “We are G‑d’s children. And if you love the father, you love the children. So loving G‑d means to love your fellow.”
Enjoy your read!
Menachem Posner,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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