Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Shoshanna,

> G-d never commanded us, in the Torah, to love our enemies.

HH: The Torah does not directly command one to 
love his enemies, nor was it really understood 
that way, it seems, based on the Psalms with 
their imprecations (which call for God's 
vengeance on sinners), but it could be understood 
to imply that:

Lev. 19:18 ¶ "'Do not seek revenge or bear a 
grudge against one of your people, but love your 
neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

HH: The law concerns fellow Israelites, but we 
know that Israelites could have one another as 
enemies, since we read about it in the historical 
books. A person from who you want to get revenge 
or against whom you are tempted to bear a grudge 
is someone who could be put in the category of an 
"enemy." A neighbor is simply someone who lives 
near you, with no necessary implications of 
friendship, other than God's expectation that you 
show love to him.

                                        Yours,
                                        Harold Holmyard