On Apr 24, 2010, at 8:16 PM, Anthony Stadlen wrote:
In Jewish translations and discussions in English of the Holiness Code, i.e. Leviticus 19, the word "fellow" is often used interchangeably with "neighbour". "My fellow, my brother" -- isn't that what Baudelaire means?
Anthony Stadlen
Dear Mr Stadlen,
I don't know about Baudelaire, but I can tell you something about the verse in the Hebrew bible. The word under question here ("neighbor") in Hebrew has the root resh-ayin-kaf. Unfortunately I can't lay hands on a Hebrew dictionary at the moment, but I can tell you that the two phrases in Leviticus distinguish between brothers (literally: sons of thy people) whom we are enjoined not to hate or hold grudges against, and the neighbor (in the singular) [ואהבת לרעך כמוך] towards whom we are enjoined to bear the same love as that we we bear for our own. So it would appear not to refer to the fellow next door.