Vayikra, 19:18: You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself – I am God.
Rashi, 19:18: sv. You shall love your neighbor as yourself: “Rebbe Akiva says, this is a fundamental principle of the Torah.”

The Torah famously instructs us to relate to our fellow man in the same way that we relate to ourselves. Rashi quotes Rebbe Akiva who explains that this is a fundamental principle of the Torah, which the commentaries explain to mean that numerous other commandments are built on the foundation of the commandment of ‘love your neighbor’. The Chatam Sofer notes a contradiction between Rebbe Akiva’s words here and another principle that he expounds in another place.

The Gemara in Bava Metzia discusses a situation where two people find themselves in the desert and only one of them has a bottle of water. There is enough water available to enable one of them to survive until they reach civilization. What should the person with the bottle do? Ben Beteira argues that he cannot leave his fellow to die alone, rather they must share the bottle.¹ Rebbe Akiva argues, and derives from the Torah a concept known as ‘chayecha kodmim’ (your life comes first) – that a person has the right to put his life before the life of his fellow. Accordingly, Rebbe Akiva rules that the person with the bottle may keep it.²

The Chatam Sofer writes that these two sayings of Rebbe Akiva seem to contradict themselves. His elucidation of the commandment of ‘love your neighbor’ seems to imply that one must treat his fellow man in the same way as himself, whereas his principle of ‘chayecha kodmim’ suggests that a person can put himself before his friend.³

He offers a fascinating answer to this question by differentiating between the physical and spiritual realm: The case in Bava Metzia is in the physical realm – there Rebbe Akiva holds that one can put his own physical needs before those of his friend. However, in Kedoshim, Rebbe Akiva is referring to the spiritual realm; with regards to spirituality he argues that one must treat his fellow exactly the same as himself. To buttress his point, he says that is why Rebbe Akiva says that this a fundamental principle in the Torah. Why couldn’t Rebbe Akiva simply say that this is a fundamental principle and stop there? The fact that he added the words, “in the Torah” alludes to the fact that in the realm of Torah, that is, the spiritual sphere, one must take the words of ‘love your neighbor’ literally and treat his friend the same as himself.⁴

One implication of his explanation, he argues, is that a person should be willing to stop his own learning in order to teach someone else.⁵ This seems difficult to understand because he seems to be telling us to put our fellow before us by teaching them; this goes further than treating them equally. He explains, however, that when a person teaches someone else, they both benefit – the student for being taught, and also the teacher benefits from his teaching as well.

A further question on the Chatam Sofer’s explanation is why should there be a difference between the physical and spiritual realms with regard to how one treats his fellow? Why, in the spiritual realm, must he treat his fellow like himself, whereas, in the physical realm, he can put himself first? It seems that the answer is based on the metaphysical concept that the Jewish nation is one spiritual entity. The commentaries compare it to one spiritual body where each Jew represents a different part of that body. This gives rise to the concept of ‘kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh’- that each Jew is responsible for each other. This goes so far as to mean that when one Jew sins, then it is considered as if other Jews also sinned.⁶ In contrast, on a physical level each person is separate simply because each person’s body is separate from every one else. Accordingly, whilst there is an obligation to care for one’s fellow Jew’s physical needs, it does not reach the extent where one must treat his fellow exactly as himself.

The explanation of the Chatam Sofer and its halachic implications are subject to disagreement.⁷ Yet its philosophical ramifications are relevant to all of us. They remind us that the spiritual well-being of our fellow Jew is something that should be at the forefront of our concerns – not simply because we should care about our fellow Jew, but because their failings are our failings and their achievements are our achievements.

1. Bava Metsia, 62a. See Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah, 1^st Chelek, Simun 145 who explains the reasoning of Ben Beteira.
2. Many Authorities hold that one is obligated to put himself first and is not allowed to give the bottle to his friend in this case. See MinchastAsher, Parshas Behar, pp.396-397 for discussion of this question.
3. See Ramban, Kedoshim, 19:18 who addresses a similar issue.
4. Torat Moshe, Parshat Kedoshim. Also see Sheilot and Teshuvot Chatam Sofer, Choshen Mishpat, Simun 164 where he applies this principle to halacha.
5. It may well be that he is referring to certain people, such as people on a high level of learning. Moreover, see Igrot Moshe, Even HaEzer, 4^th Chelek, Simun 26 who argues with the Chatam Sofer on the halachic implications of his understanding. One should ask a Rabbi for specific guidance in this area.
6. To the extent that they could have done something to prevent the sin taking place.
7. See Igros Moshe, Even HaEzer, 4^th Chelek, Simun 26 who argues with the Chasam Sofer on the halachic implications of his understanding. One should ask a Rav for specific guidance in this area, for example with regards to questions of how much time one should devote to teaching others, or when a person feels that he wants to end a chavrusa.