Expert: Ovadiah ben Avraham - 12/1/2006

Question
It's after 6:00 PM on Saturday, so I hope I am not interupting your shabbat.

I am a student of a number of religious texts, and have been considering the statement of Jesus in the Christian Scriptures, "you have heard that it was said love your neighbors and hate your enemies."  The "love your neighbor" of course is in Lev. 19 and other places, but the "hate your enemy" is not in the Tanak.  I am trying to find out how wide-spread this saying was.

Do you know if such a statement is found in the Talmud, or any other second-temple rabbinic text?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
George,
Great question. You are correct in the asnwer as well: No, "to hate one's enemies" is not contained in the Torah, Talmud or any other Jewish text I am aware of. It directly contradicts Jewish thought and Leviticus 19 (which does not say that one is friendly with said neighbor). Thanks for the question. Shalom!