Judaism: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

At Common Ground, people of every faith—and no faith—gather to learn from one another and work for a more compassionate and just world. In this week’s post, we listen to one tradition’s history and wisdom while respecting the diversity found within it.

An Ancient and Living Tradition

Judaism is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions, but it is not only a set of beliefs. It is also a people, a culture, a history, and a way of life. Jewish tradition traces its story through Abraham and Sarah, liberation from slavery in Egypt, the covenant at Sinai, life in the land of Israel, exile, return, and centuries of Jewish life throughout the world. Today, Judaism includes many communities and movements, including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and secular or cultural Jewish identities.

Sacred Writings and Practices

The Torah—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—stands at the center of Jewish sacred life. The larger Hebrew Bible is called the Tanakh. Jewish communities also study the Talmud, a vast collection of rabbinic discussion about scripture, ethics, worship, and everyday life. Practices may include daily prayer, keeping Shabbat from Friday evening to Saturday evening, observing dietary traditions, studying sacred texts, giving to those in need, and celebrating holidays such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Hanukkah.

The Golden Rule

Leviticus 19:18 teaches, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Rabbi Hillel, one of Judaism’s best-known ancient teachers, expressed the principle in another way: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” The rest, he said, is commentary—and then he told the student to go and study. The teaching is simple enough to remember but deep enough to shape an entire life.

Love Made Practical

In Jewish tradition, love is not limited to a feeling. It becomes justice, hospitality, generosity, truthfulness, and responsibility. The Torah repeatedly commands care for the stranger because the people of Israel knew what it meant to be strangers in Egypt. The concept of tikkun olam, often translated as repairing the world, has become an important way many Jewish communities describe their responsibility to help heal what is broken. Loving a neighbor means protecting their dignity and helping create conditions in which everyone can flourish.

Finding Our Common Ground

Judaism reminds us that faith is practiced in ordinary choices: how we speak, how we use our resources, how we welcome people, and how we respond to injustice. At Common Ground, we honor the Jewish call to love our neighbors through action. We also remember that loving ourselves includes protecting our dignity, resting, setting healthy boundaries, and recognizing that we too are worthy of care.

Common Ground is an open and affirming interfaith gathering where people of every faith—and no faith—explore justice, compassion, and community together. Come as you are. Everyone belongs.