Love Thy Neighbor Part 4
A key to fulfilling the command of ‘Love Thy Neighbor’ is to turn our
attention to the people around us. We all have a natural tendency to
think about ourselves more than other people and; consequently, we may
sometimes be unaware of the needs of others. To love one’s neighbor
properly it is necessary to make genuine attempts to be sensitive to their
needs.
In Judaism the wisest people are also the most righteous - there are
numerous examples of how leading Rabbis demonstrated their care for
others. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was the leading Rabbi in USA for many
decades; on one occasion he was being taken in a car by a student. As
Rabbi Feinstein entered the car the student inadvertently closed the door
onto his fingers, yet he remained completely silent as if nothing had
happened. A bewildered onlooker asked him why he did not cry out, he
answered that the student would feel incredible embarrassment about having
caused him pain and therefore he controlled himself and kept quiet.
Another example of great selflessness involves Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer,
one of the leading Rabbis in Israel for the first part of the 20th
century. His son-in-law, Rabbi Aharon Kotler and his grandson Shneur went
to Rabbi Meltzer to say goodbye shortly before leaving Eretz Yisroel for
Shneur’s chasunah. Rabbi Meltzer stopped in the middle of the stairs on
the way down rather than escorting them all the way to the street. They
asked him about it and he explained, “Many of the people who live around
here have grandchildren who were murdered by the Nazis. How could I go
down to the street and embrace my grandchild, flaunting my joy publicly,
when these people can’t do the same?! ”
These superhuman demonstrations of selflessness can be an inspiration to
us. There are numerous examples where we can overcome our own self-
absorption and show an awareness of the needs of those around us. A
number of commandments encourage the development of the trait of
selflessness. For example, if a person finds a lost object such as a
wallet lying in the street he is obligated (under certain circumstances)
to pick it up, look after it and announce it in the local vicinity in an
attempt to locate its owner. This command requires us to take a moment
out of our own busy schedules and devote some time and effort into helping
or fellow man. By striving to observe these commandments we can all
become kinder people.
Text Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen and Torah.org