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JUDAISM and the “GOLDEN RULE”
a) PRIMARY SOURCES =
1) Hebrew: "‫ "כמוך לרעך ואהבת‬:
“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love
your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
—Leviticus 19:18
(“Thou shalt not hate thy brother. in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy
neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. 18 Thou shalt not take
vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but
thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” – Jewish
Publication Society’s version of Leviticus 19:18)
2) Hebrew: “‫תלמוד‬
‫בבלי‬, ‫לא שבת‬.”
"What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole
Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and study it."
-Talmud Shabbat 31a
B) SECONDARY SOURCE = Many people think of Judaism as the religion of cold,
harsh laws, to be contrasted with Christianity, the religion of love and brotherhood. This
is an unfair characterization of both Judaism and Jewish law. Love and kindness have
been a part of Judaism from the very beginning. When Jesus said, "love thy neighbor as
thyself," he was merely quoting Torah, and he was quoting the book that is most
commonly dismissed as a source of harsh laws: Leviticus 19:18. The point is repeated
in Leviticus 19:34: love [the stranger] as thyself.
Love and Brotherhood in Jewish Sources
A large part of Jewish law is about treating people with kindness. The same body of
Jewish law that commands us to eat only kosher food and not to turn on lights on
Shabbat, also commands us to love both Jews and strangers, to give tzedakah (charity)
to the poor and needy, and not to wrong anyone in speech or in business. In fact, acts
of kindness are so much a part of Jewish law that the word "mitzvah" (literally,
"commandment") is informally used to mean any good deed.
Pirkei Avot, a book of the Mishnah, teaches that the universe depends on three things:
on Torah (law), on avodah (service to G-d), and on g'milut chasadim (usually translated
as "acts of lovingkindness") (Avot 1:2), perhaps drawing from Psalm 89:3, "the universe
is built on kindness" (more commonly translated as "forever is mercy built"). In fact, this
quote has become a popular song in synagogues: Al Shlosha D'varim (On Three
Things). The Mishnah also describes g'milut chasadim as one of the few mitzvot
(commandments) for which there is no minimum amount sufficient to satisfy your
obligation. (Pe'ah 1:1; reiterated in Talmud Chagigah 7a). That verse also describes
g'milut chasadim as one of the few things that one derive benefit from in this world and
yet still be rewarded for in the world to come. The Talmud says that g'milut chasadim is
greater than tzedakah (charity), because unlike tzedakah, g'milut chasadim can be done
for both poor and rich, both the living and the dead, and can be done with money or with
acts. (Talmud Sukkah 49b).
The Talmud tells a story of Rabbi Hillel, who lived around the time of Jesus. A pagan
came to him saying that he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the whole
of the Torah in the time he could stand on one foot. Rabbi Hillel replied, "What is hateful
to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just
commentary. Go and study it." (Talmud Shabbat 31a). Sounds a lot like Jesus' "Golden
Rule"? But this idea was a fundamental part of Judaism long before Hillel or Jesus. It is
a common-sense application of the Torah commandment to love your neighbor as
yourself (Lev. 19:18), which Rabbi Akiba described as the essence of the Torah
(according to Rashi's commentary on the verse).
The true difference between Judaism and Christianity lies in Hillel's last comment: Go
and study it. Judaism is not content to leave love and brotherhood as a lofty ideal, to be
fulfilled as each individual sees fit. Judaism spells out, in intricate detail, how we are
meant to show that love.
-Judaism 101 Website