Hatred of the Heart/2

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Hatred of the Heart

Exegetical Approaches

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Prohibition to Hate in All Cases

Overt and Covert Hating

"כִּי תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ"
"וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ"
"בִּלְבָבֶךָ"
מצוות שבלב
Context
"אָחִיךָ"
"תִשְׂנָא"

Hating Only in One's Heart

"כִּי תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ"
"וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ"
"בִּלְבָבֶךָ"
מצוות שבלב
Context
"אָחִיךָ"
"תִשְׂנָא"

Prohibition to Hate Under Certain Circumstances

"לֹא תִשְׂנָא" is only a prohibition for judges not to hate the defendant.

"כִּי תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ" – R. Yosef ibn Kaspi holds that one is allowed to hate in general and so "שֹׂנַאֲךָ" is your enemy.
"וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ" – This approach holds that the mitzvah of "וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ" is not connected to our prohibition.
"בִּלְבָבֶךָ"
מצוות שבלב
Context
"אָחִיךָ"
"תִשְׂנָא"

A Different Prohibition

What prohibition? These commentators disagree what the prohibition in the verse is:
  • אחד בפה אחד בלב - Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and Rashbam explain that the verse is talking about someone who hates another in their heart but pretends to the outside that he likes him.
  • תוכחה - Rashbam, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Yereim and Ramban say that our verse is talking about one mitzvah.  If someone does something to you, one shouldn't hate him rather one should reproach him.
"כִּי תִרְאֶה חֲמוֹר שֹׂנַאֲךָ" – These commentators will hold that "שֹׂנַאֲךָ" is your enemy whom you either show your hatred towards him or that you have reproached him already.
"וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ" – This approach understands "וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ" as a separate mitzvah which is unrelated to our prohibition.
"בִּלְבָבֶךָ"
מצוות שבלב – According to these commentators, our verse is not talking about a mitzvah that one does in one's heart.
Context
"אָחִיךָ"
"תִשְׂנָא"