We have been discussing loving your fellow man. In the Sefer Darchei Mussar, by Rabbi Neiman, on Parashat Re’eh , he quotes the Elder of Kelm, who says, regarding Sedaka , that if you give Sedaka but don’t feel like it hurts you that the man is suffering, and only do it because you are a God fearing man and want to fulfill the Mitzvah, that is not considered Sedaka B’Shelemut - a complete Mitzvah. The goal and focus of Sedaka is when you reach the level that you forget it’s a Mitzvah. You give Sedaka because your friend is hungry, and so you feel like you yourself are hungry, and therefore you give him. That’s what Veahavta LeRe’echa Kamocha Love your friend like you love yourself means. He says that we don’t eat because it’s a Mitzvah to eat. He says that we eat because we are hungry. Veahavta LeRe’echa Kamocha means love your friend just like you love yourself. No one loves themselves because it’s a Mitzvah to love yourself. That would be strange. Hashem put into you, a natural love for yourself. If you were in a building, lo Alenu , and there was a stampede, you wouldn’t run out because it’s a Mitzvah, you run out because it’s a natural instinct to save yourself. When someone else is in trouble, you supposed to save or help them because of that natural instinct, thinking, How can I sit by and watch while he is suffering? So right now, we seemingly have two different approaches (or a machloket/conflict ) to this Mitzvah. We learned one opinion yesterday, from the Chafetz Chaim, and from the Sefer HaBrit, that we have to love our friends like we love ourselves because Ani Hashem ’- because Hashem commanded us- not just because we want to be nice. We learned that we shouldn’t just give somebody a ride because it’s a nice thing to do, we should have in mind that it’s a Mitzvah. But, on the other hand, now we are hearing that we should love our friends like we love ourselves, as a natural instinct and tendency, and not for any religious purpose. A rabbi once visited another, sick Rabbi, and was treating him very nicely. The sick Rabbi told the visitor, “ I don’t want to be you’re etrog.” He felt like he had become a Mitzvah item- a sick man there for the Mitzvah of bikur holim. He felt like the visit or shouldn’t just do it for the Mitzvah, he should be doing it out of love. So what is the answer? We will continue tomorrow B’ezrat Hashem.