LEV693 The medieval biblical exegete Rashbam commented on the words "Love your neighbor" that "if your neighbor is good [love him], but if he is evil, 'The fear of the Lord is to hate evil'" (Proverbs 8:13). Nechama Leibowitz, perhaps the greatest Bible teacher of the twentieth Century (see also pages 21-23) has argued that although Rashbam's fame for his "strict adherence to the plain sense of the text," in this instance he has violated his own principle since "the text itself affords no hint of any such distinction between a good and evil man. On the contrary, it employs a neutral comprehensive term, 'neighbor.'" (Leibowitz, Studies in Yayikra (Leviticus), 195.) [Although I prefer Rashbam's understanding of the text to that of Leibowitz's, the fact that he does not define what he means by "evil" is problematic. Thus, on occasion, I have heard some observant Jews refer to Jews who don't observe Judaism's ritual laws as resha'im, evil people, and who seem to believe, in consequence, that the law commanding love of neighbor does not apply to them. This is very unfortunate and morally wrong. The word "evil" should apply in the general sense in which people use this term, as referring to people who engage in cruel and harmful behavior to others. In modern times, the ultra-Orthodox sage, the Chazon Ish, ruled that since God is not as evident in the world today as He was, for example, during the revelation at Mount Sinai, observant Jews should not regard non-observant Jews as apikorsim, heretics, people who knew God and rejected Him. The late Rabbi Joseph Lookstein often said that he loved all Jews except for Jews who didn't love other Jews.] In this instance, it could be argued that Leibowitz herself is being overly literal. "Love your neighbor" is given as a general command without restrictions, in the same way as "Honor your father and mother." However, does Leibowitz assume that this law enjoins a child to act lovingly and respectfully toward a parent who, for example, sexually abused her? Sixteen verses after "love your neighbor," the Torah similarly places no restrictions on the command to love "as yourself" the stranger whose resides with you [this verse]. This implies, for example, that Israeli Jews have a biblical obligation to love Arabs who live among them in peace. But I suspect that Leibowitz does not believe that this command also applies to those Arabs who engage in acts of terror or who support groups or countries that seek to destroy Israel. To insist that a child is obligated to love and respect a father who sexually abused her or that an Israeli must love a "stranger" who commits acts of terror is to turn a beautiful and generally applicable Torah law into a self-destructive statute. In short, as Rashbam teaches, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves in a large majority of instances, but not all.