Hi,
The Torah was written thousands of years ago!
Sometimes it’s hard to believe.
Take one of the most amazing commandments.
It was read this past Shabbat in synagogues al over the world.
“Love your neighbor like yourself”. I am G-d. (Leviticus, 19:18)
… Picture how this would go over in Ancient Greece.
Huh?
“Do we have to be better than the gods?
They’re jealous of each other. They’re always fighting!
But I should love my neighbor”?
And ancient Rome?
Where people went to the Coliseum for entertainment?
And watched their neighbor being thrown to the lions?
… The Torah was not only ahead of its time.
It’s ahead of our time!
Let’s face it. It’s not easy to love others.
And some people can make it very hard!
How do we even start?
… Loving others is a revolutionary idea.
But it’s not the first one in this verse.
The first?
“Love your neighbor like yourself”.
We need to love ourselves.
… Self esteem is a billion dollar industry today!
So many people don’t love themselves. Don’t think that they’re important.
And don’t even know why they’re alive.
A key to self esteem?
We need to finish the sentence in the Torah.
“Love your neighbor like yourself. I am G-d’.
“Your life has meaning.
You’re here because I am G-d. And I created you.
Because I think you can help make this a better world.
I care about how you live your life. And I want you to have a relationship with Me.
If you mess up? Try harder”!
… How should we respond?
“Wow. I am important. There is meaning to my life.
I’m far from perfect. But I’m working on it.
We should be able to love ourselves.
… And what’s the next step?
Loving ourselves? Yes. But we can’t become arrogant.
Because wait a second. It’s not just me.
G-d says the same thing about my neighbors!
They’re also very important.
I should be able to love them too!
All the best,