Matthew 22:40

New Testament

34 Now when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. 35 And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.

Pirkei Avot 2:9

Mishnah
Rabbinic

9 He [Rabban Yohanan] said unto them: go forth and observe which is the right way to which a man should cleave? Rabbi Eliezer said, a good eye; Rabbi Joshua said, a good companion; Rabbi Yose said, a good neighbor; Rabbi Shimon said, foresight. Rabbi Elazar said, a good heart. He [Rabban Yohanan] said to them: I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, for in his words your words are included. He [Rabban Yohanan] said unto them: go forth and observe which is the evil way which a man should shun? Rabbi Eliezer said, an evil eye; Rabbi Joshua said, an evil companion; Rabbi Yose said, an evil neighbor; Rabbi Shimon said, one who borrows and does not repay for he that borrows from man is as one who borrows from God, blessed be He, as it is said, “the wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous deal graciously and give” (Psalms 37:21). Rabbi Elazar said, an evil heart. He [Rabban Yohanan] said to them: I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, for in his words your words are included.

 Notes and References

"... The imperative to neighborly care, the command to ‘love your fellow as yourself (Leviticus 19:18),’ functions as another important theme to which Jewish religious anarchists appealed. In talmudic literature, we find two variations of the same fundamental claim. R. Akiva called it the ‘great general rule of the Torah (J. Nedarim 30b),’ while Hillel the Elder paraphrased it as ‘that which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah (Shabbat 31a).’ Here, we discern a fine distinction. For R. Akiva, the principle is ‘of the Torah;’ this implies that the Torah circumscribes it. Moreover, it suggests that the imperative to love extends only to the people of the Torah. For Hillel, however, it is the whole Torah; the Torah is circumscribed by it. Accordingly, it extends to all humankind. Elsewhere, the embeddedness of the Torah in the imperative to love the neighbor is coupled with the love due God. R. Simlai taught both that ‘its beginning is an act of kindness and its end is an act of kindness (Sotah 14a)’ and that ‘Amos came and established the 613 mitzvot upon one, as it is stated: “So says the Lord to the house of Israel: seek me and live” (Amos 5:4; Makkot 24a).’ The Torah is contained within works of love toward others and stands on the love of God; for R. Simlai, the two function as synonyms. Later, this synthetic conception of universal love came to constitute the core of the Christian teaching. In the book of Matthew Jesus teaches that ‘the greatest commandment in the law’ is a composite of imperatives to love God and the neighbor, which includes the stranger, the wrongdoer, and even the enemy (Matthew 5:43–45). Like R. Simlai, he contends that ‘on these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:40).’ ..."

Rothman, Hayyim No Masters but God: Portraits of Anarcho-Judaism (p. 23) Manchester University Press, 2021

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