Do any rabbinical sources hold that the commandment in Leviticus 19:18 to love one's neighbour as oneself (ואהבת לרעך כמוך) applies to non-Jews as well as Jews?
asked Sep 18, 2014 at 19:10
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3Why do you think there are such authorities?– Double AA ♦Sep 18, 2014 at 19:14
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There are authorities who view the prohibition of homosexuality as relating to hermaphrodites, why wouldn't there be an opinion who says that says that v'ahavta l're'eicha kamocha is applicable to goyim? It certainly makes more sense than completely editorialising an issur.– Noach MiFrankfurtSep 18, 2014 at 19:25
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There might be authorities who think Matza has to be purple, but until you indicate why you think they might exist, asking about them is a poor question. (Incidentally I don't know of any authorities who limit the prohibition on homosexuality to hermaphrodites.)– Double AA ♦Sep 18, 2014 at 19:44
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2@NoachmiFrankfurt Your question might better be phrased "does anyone hold" rather than "who holds" as the latter implies you are aware that someone does and just don't know who.– Y e zSep 18, 2014 at 20:32
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1Related: judaism.stackexchange.com/q/14324/5323– MTLSep 19, 2014 at 4:11
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1 Answer
Although the term רעך (your fellow/neighbor, friend) is generally understood as applying strictly to one's fellow Jew, R' David Sears brings a number of sources related to loving every one, including one which see a broader application of this verse in his book Compassion for Humanity in the Jewish Tradition:
Love for one's neighbor means that we should love all people no matter to which nation they belong or what language they speak. For all men are created in the Divine image and all engage in improving civilization...Our love of humanity should take no exception to any nation or individual....Therefore, not only does [love of one's fellow] apply to the Jewish people but to all mankind. We should love all nations and include all peoples in this universal principle, "the stranger and the native son" alike, all who inhabit the earth. Let every man strive for the benefit of his fellow, in a spirit of mutuality, whether in physical concerns or in financial matters, for the collective good and for the improvement of society. Loving one's neighbor means that we should befriend all human beings. (Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu of Vilna, Sefer HaBris, sect. II, discourse 13)."(page 6 and 7)
He subsequently relates a story about Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz who was very pleased when presented with a sefer teaching this idea, presumably the aforementioned Sefer HaBris.
