What drove the two brothers of Lod to perform such an act of martyrdom? What was it that compelled Ashkenazi to selflessly sacrifice himself for the people of Minsk? It was Ahavat Yisrael—the love of every Jew—that filled their hearts and inspired their noble actions. Nothing, not even death, stood in the way of their love.

The Torah source for the mitzvah of Ahavat Yisrael is a verse in Leviticus (19:18): “V’ahavta l’reyacha kamocha”—Love your friend as you love yourself. How does this mitzvah obligate us? Must we actually give our lives for our brethren? Does the Torah demand from us to truly love every Jew, even total strangers, as we love ourselves?

The Ramban (Leviticus 19:17) explains that “as you love yourself” is not meant to be taken literally. The Torah only commands us to perform mitzvot that every Jew is capable of doing. The Torah cannot demand of every individual to love all others as he loves himself, since not every Jew can reach such a level.

The commandment, “Love your friend as you love yourself” requires us to overcome our jealousy of others. It requires us to rejoice in others’ good fortune the way we rejoice in our own. It requires us to want others to have all of the good things of life that we want for ourselves. We are forbidden to do to others what we would not want others to do to us. In the Ramban’s view, this explanation is actually hinted at in the verse itself. The verse says “v’ahavta l’reyacha kamocha.” The verse does not say “v’ahavta ET reyacha kamocha,” as it does with regard to the mitzvah of loving G-d, for example (“v’ahavta ET Hashem”). This change in the writing style teaches us that the obligation is not to actually love all others; otherwise the Torah would have said “v’ahavta ET reyacha kamocha.” The “lamed” of “l’reyacha” tells us that we are obligated to treat others as if we love them.

However, I would like to suggest that although the Torah does not obligate one to literally love his fellow Jew as himself, one who has the ability to reach such a level of Ahavat Yisrael should certainly attempt to reach it. The mitzvah of Ahavat Yisrael is similar, in this way, to the mitzvah of learning Torah.

How much Torah is a person obligated to learn each day? The Shulchan Aruch (Yorah Deah 246:1) paskens that one is obligated to set aside time to learn during both the day and the night. The Rama goes even further and states that under certain circumstances (shaat hadchak), one may even fulfill his obligation by reciting kriyat shema in the morning and at night. Does this mean that one who has the ability to learn more is not obligated to do so? Certainly not.

The Ohr Samayach on the Rambam (Hilchot Talmud Torah) explains that the Torah does not demand more from a person than he has the ability to do. Many people do not have the ability to learn much Torah each day. Therefore, the Torah only commands us to learn an amount that everyone can learn—a little during the day and a little at night. But one who has the ability to learn more is certainly required to learn as much as he can. The mitzvah of learning Torah has a bare minimum that all must attain, but every person should fulfill what his capabilities allow him to accomplish.

The same is true of the mitzvah of Ahavat Yisrael. Rav Dessler (Michtav M’Eliyahu, vol. 3, p. 88) writes that the bare minimum required for compliance with the mitzvah of Ahavat Yisrael is eliminating the jealousy within us, as explained by the Ramban above. Still, there are higher levels that we should attempt to attain. The Mesilat Yesharim (Chap. 11) writes, “Love your friend as you love yourself”—literally as yourself! The Mesilat Yesharim is addressing the person who wants to work on himself, who doesn’t want to settle for the bare minimum. A person must constantly strive to reach higher and higher levels. And that includes trying to reach the level of loving others as oneself.