Rebuke and spreading love of Hashem

בפסוק הוכח תוכיח כ' המפ' להיות המוכיח בכלל התוכחה.

On the verse "You shall surely rebuke" (hocheiach tochiach), the commentators write that the one who rebukes should be included within the rebuke.

The Sefas Emes cites the explanation that when a person gives tochachah (rebuke) to another, he must count himself as part of the very rebuke he is giving.

פי' לידע שיש לו חלק בהחטא.

Meaning: to recognize that he himself has a share in the sin.

The one rebuking must humbly acknowledge that he too bears some portion of responsibility for the wrongdoing.

כמ"ש ולא תשא עליו חטא.

As it is written: "and do not bear sin because of him."

The end of the verse warns the one rebuking not to load all the guilt onto the other person.

פי' שלא להשליך כל החטא על החוטא רק להתערב עצמו ולשוב ע"ז וממילא ירגיש גם חבירו ויתעורר בתשובה.

Meaning: not to cast the entire sin upon the sinner, but rather to involve himself in it and do teshuvah for it — and then, automatically, his fellow too will sense this and be aroused to teshuvah.

True rebuke is not finger-pointing. When the one rebuking includes himself, repents on his own part, the other person feels it and is naturally moved to do teshuvah as well — far more effective than condemnation.

ואהבת לרעך כמוך פרשנו לשון פועל יוצא וקאי על אהבת ה' כי היכן מצינו שיאהב האדם את עצמו שיאמר כמוך רק הפי' (לאהוב) [*להאהיב] את השם לרעך כמו לך כמ"ש חז"ל ואהבת את ה' להיות ש"ש מתאהב על ידך.

"And you shall love your fellow as yourself" — we have explained [the verb] as a transitive (causative) form, and that it refers to the love of Hashem; for where do we find that a person [is commanded to] love himself, that it should say "as yourself"? Rather the meaning is: to cause Hashem to be beloved to your fellow just as [He is beloved] to you, as Chazal said on "And you shall love Hashem" — that the Name of Heaven should become beloved through you.

The Sefas Emes reads "v'ahavta" not merely as "you shall love" but as "you shall cause to be loved." The mitzvah is to instill in your fellow the love of Hashem that you yourself have — drawing on Chazal's teaching that one must make Hashem's Name beloved through one's conduct.

וכמו שהאדם מייגע עצמו להכניס אהבת ה' בלבו.

And just as a person labors to bring the love of Hashem into his own heart —

One invests great effort to cultivate ahavas Hashem within himself.

כן יכניס אהבת ה' בלב חבירו לכן אמרו שהוא כלל גדול בתורה:

so too he should bring the love of Hashem into the heart of his fellow; therefore they said that this is a great principle (klal gadol) in the Torah.

This is why "v'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha" is called the great principle of the Torah: it is the mission of spreading the love of Hashem to others, just as one cultivates it within oneself.

Summary: Effective rebuke requires humility — the one rebuking must include himself in the sin and do teshuvah, so that his fellow is naturally awakened rather than blamed. So too, "Love your fellow as yourself" is read as a transitive command: to make Hashem beloved to your fellow just as you labor to make Him beloved in your own heart. This work of spreading ahavas Hashem to others is the great principle of the entire Torah.