Shmelke of Nikolsburg (?-1778)

I enjoyed this reading. The rabbi speaks eloquently about the way that one loves their neighbor. Out of all of the commandments, I like “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” I think that it is one that can be applied to many things and can be interpreted in many ways. The way that the rabbi speaks about treating one's neighbor is an interpretation that I really like. The idea that we are all one; a concept that I know and believe. When the rabbi says “love thy neighbor” he is really saying “love thy self.”


We are all reflections of each other. Not literally, of course. But we are reflections. I can see things in other people that I hate, and I consciously know that what I don't like in them, I don't like in myself. The same goes for things that I admire about others. I like to think that what I admire I already posses, or am striving to achieve.


I enjoyed the example that the rabbi uses “if your own hand hits your nose, would you hit your hand in punishment?” Well, no obviously. And I really hope my hands never turn against me. But basically he is saying that we should love everyone, even those who hurt us. If we love those who wrong us, then we actually end up loving ourselves.


At the end of the passage, the rabbi adds a snip-it in about leading those who have strayed off the path of god, back on the path. I like that the rabbi says that we are all from one spark of god's soul. We are the pure essence of our creator. As a result, we are connected to each other. Prayer proves to work, if enough people participate, because when we unite our thoughts and words we are able to accomplish pretty much anything.