This mitzvah is extremely practical. It applies in families, friendships, shuls, schools, workplaces, communities, and online life. Hatred often begins quietly. A person feels hurt, misunderstood, disrespected, or wronged, and instead of addressing it, he stores it inside.

The Torah teaches that hidden hatred is dangerous. It can shape the way a person speaks, reacts, judges, and remembers. Even when no harsh words are spoken, the relationship becomes poisoned from within.

This mitzvah trains a person to notice what is happening inside his heart. He must ask: am I holding resentment? Am I hoping the other person fails? Am I replaying the hurt in a way that makes hatred stronger? Am I refusing a path toward repair?

Sometimes the correct response is gentle conversation. Sometimes it is תּוֹכָחָה — rebuke. Sometimes it is distance with dignity. Sometimes it is working internally to release anger. But the Torah does not allow hatred to become a hidden home inside the heart.

Rambam

• Source: Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, Negative Mitzvah 302; Mishneh Torah, Hilchos De’os 6:5–6.
• Rambam defines this mitzvah as the prohibition against hating another Jew in one’s heart. He explains that if someone wronged him, he should not remain silent while carrying hatred inside. Rather, he should speak to the person and say, “Why did you do this to me?” Rambam shows that Torah does not want buried resentment. It wants honest repair through proper speech.

Sefer HaChinuch

• Source: Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 238.
• Sefer HaChinuch explains that the root of the mitzvah is to create peace and love among Jews. Hidden hatred destroys society because people may act friendly while carrying hostility inside. The mitzvah trains a person to cleanse his heart and protect the unity of Klal Yisrael.

Gemara

• Source: Gemara Yoma 9b.
• The Gemara teaches that the second Beis HaMikdash was destroyed because of שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם — baseless hatred. This shows the terrible force of hatred within Klal Yisrael. Hatred is not only a private emotion. It can weaken the spiritual structure of the nation.

Gemara

• Source: Gemara Pesachim 113b.
• The Gemara discusses limited cases where hatred may apply toward a person who has committed serious wrongdoing and refuses correction. This helps define the mitzvah carefully. The Torah forbids personal hatred of a fellow Jew, while also recognizing that evil behavior must not be treated as harmless.

Gemara

• Source: Gemara Erchin 16b.
• The Gemara connects the prohibition of hatred with the mitzvah of rebuke. Chazal teach that if one person sees another doing wrong, he should not hate him silently. He should rebuke him properly. This shows that Torah repair replaces hidden resentment.

Avos

• Source: Pirkei Avos 4:1.
• Ben Zoma teaches: “Who is mighty? One who conquers his inclination.” The Mishnah connects true strength not to power over others, but to mastery over one’s own spirit. In the context of this mitzvah, the גִּבּוֹר — mighty person is one who restrains anger, resentment, and hatred before they take root in the heart.

Sifra

• Source: Sifra, Kedoshim, Parashah 2.
• Sifra explains “לֹא תִשְׂנָא אֶת אָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ” as a prohibition against hatred kept in the heart. The Midrash highlights the Torah’s word “בִּלְבָבֶךָ” — in your heart, teaching that the inner emotional life is also subject to mitzvos.

Bereishis Rabbah

• Source: Bereishis Rabbah 84:9.
• The Midrash discusses the hatred of Yosef’s brothers and how it led to division, pain, and exile. Their story shows how unresolved hatred inside a family can grow into national consequence. Hatred begins in the heart, but it does not remain there.

Tanchuma

• Source: Midrash Tanchuma, Vayeishev 7.
• Tanchuma develops the danger of hatred among brothers through the story of Yosef. The Midrash teaches that jealousy and hidden resentment can distort judgment and lead people to actions they would never have imagined at the beginning.

Rashi

• Source: Rashi on Vayikra 19:17.
• Rashi explains that one should not hate another Jew inwardly, but should rebuke him when needed. His reading follows the flow of the pasuk: do not store hatred; address the issue through proper תּוֹכָחָה — rebuke.

Ramban

• Source: Ramban on Vayikra 19:17.
• Ramban explains that the Torah forbids concealed hatred, because hidden hostility is more dangerous than open conflict. If a person speaks honestly, repair may become possible. If he hides hatred, the relationship becomes false and poisoned.

Ibn Ezra

• Source: Ibn Ezra on Vayikra 19:17.
• Ibn Ezra explains the pasuk as a command not to carry hatred toward one’s brother in the heart. His plain reading emphasizes the inner nature of the mitzvah. Torah is not satisfied with outward peace if the heart is filled with hatred.

Sforno

• Source: Sforno on Vayikra 19:17.
• Sforno explains that the proper response to another person’s wrongdoing is rebuke, not hatred. Hatred hardens the heart. Rebuke, when given correctly, seeks repair and moral improvement.

Abarbanel

• Source: Abarbanel on Vayikra 19.
• Abarbanel explains that Parshas Kedoshim builds a holy society through interpersonal mitzvos. The prohibition against hatred is central because a society cannot be holy if people hide resentment beneath external order. Kedushah — holiness requires inner honesty.

Rabbeinu Bachya

• Source: Rabbeinu Bachya on Vayikra 19:17.
• Rabbeinu Bachya teaches that the Torah forbids hatred in the heart because hidden emotions can corrupt speech and action. A person may think hatred is private, but the heart eventually shapes behavior. The mitzvah therefore guards the inner root.

Chizkuni

• Source: Chizkuni on Vayikra 19:17.
• Chizkuni explains that one should not hate another silently while pretending peace. Instead, if there is a real grievance, he should clarify it. The mitzvah demands integrity between the inner heart and outer relationship.

Kuzari

• Source: Kuzari 3:11.
• The Kuzari explains that Torah law shapes a holy people not only through worship, but through social refinement. This mitzvah shows that Torah enters even the hidden emotional life. A holy nation must refine the heart, not only behavior.

Maharal

• Source: Maharal, Nesivos Olam, Nesiv Ahavas HaRe’a, Chapter 1.
• Maharal teaches that Klal Yisrael is meant to exist as one connected body. Hatred divides that body from within. The prohibition against hatred protects the inner unity of Israel and prevents separation from becoming rooted in the heart.

Ran

• Source: Derashos HaRan, Derush 11.
• Ran explains that Torah builds a nation through justice, order, and moral discipline. Hidden hatred breaks that order because it turns fellow citizens of the covenant into enemies. The mitzvah keeps social life aligned with Divine purpose.

Ritva

• Source: Ritva on Yoma 9b.
• Ritva explains the severity of שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם — baseless hatred and its destructive impact on the Jewish people. His approach shows that hatred is not measured only by visible violence. Inner hostility itself can destroy spiritual unity.

Rashba

• Source: Rashba, Teshuvos 1:18.
• Rashba discusses the responsibility to preserve peace and avoid conduct that causes division within the community. His approach helps frame this mitzvah as a protection of communal trust. Hatred in the heart eventually harms the public bond.

Rambam

• Source: Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos De’os 6:5–6.
• Rambam rules that one who hates another Jew in his heart violates this prohibition. If another person wronged him, he should not remain silent and hate him. He should speak to him and ask why he acted that way, creating a path toward repair.

Shulchan Aruch

• Source: Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 272:11.
• Shulchan Aruch rules, in the laws of unloading an animal, that one may need to help even someone he dislikes, in order to subdue the yetzer hara — evil inclination. This shows that halacha trains a person not to let hatred control action.

Rema

• Source: Rema, Choshen Mishpat 272:11.
• Rema explains that the “enemy” mentioned in this context refers to someone disliked because of wrongdoing, not a personal enemy. This distinction matters. Personal hatred is forbidden, while moral opposition must be governed by halacha and not by ego.

Chafetz Chaim

• Source: Chafetz Chaim, Introduction, Negative Commandments 7.
• Chafetz Chaim lists “לֹא תִשְׂנָא” among the prohibitions commonly violated through interpersonal misconduct and harmful speech. His inclusion shows that hatred is often tied to lashon hara — harmful speech, resentment, and breakdown of relationships.

Aruch HaShulchan

• Source: Aruch HaShulchan, Choshen Mishpat 272:11.
• Aruch HaShulchan explains that the Torah wants a person to overcome personal hatred through mitzvah action. Helping another person, even when the relationship is strained, weakens the hatred and restores human responsibility.

Chasam Sofer

• Source: Chasam Sofer, Toras Moshe, Kedoshim, s.v. “לֹא תִשְׂנָא.”
• Chasam Sofer explains that hidden hatred is especially dangerous because it wears the face of peace while carrying division inside. The Torah demands that the heart be honest before Hashem, not only socially acceptable before people.

Netziv

• Source: Netziv, HaEmek Davar on Vayikra 19:17.
• Netziv emphasizes that the Torah calls the other person “אָחִיךָ” — your brother. Even when rebuke is needed, the person remains a brother. The mitzvah protects the feeling of shared covenant beneath conflict.

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch

• Source: Rav Hirsch on Vayikra 19:17.
• Rav Hirsch teaches that the Torah forbids hatred specifically in the heart because Judaism demands moral control over inner life. A person is not free to cultivate hostility privately while appearing proper outwardly. The Torah wants integrity within.

Malbim

• Source: Malbim on Vayikra 19:17.
• Malbim distinguishes hatred in the heart from proper rebuke in speech. The pasuk teaches that silent hatred is forbidden, while constructive rebuke may be required. Torah does not ask a person to deny wrongdoing. It asks him to seek repair without hatred.

Meshech Chochmah

• Source: Meshech Chochmah on Vayikra 19:17.
• Meshech Chochmah explains that hatred corrodes the inner bond between Jews and weakens the national covenant. Even when disagreements exist, the heart must not turn another Jew into an enemy.

Rav Kook

• Source: Rav Avraham Yitzchok HaCohen Kook, Orot HaKodesh III, p. 324.
• Rav Kook teaches that אהבת ישראל — love of Israel flows from seeing the inner holiness of Jewish souls. Hatred comes when a person sees only faults and forgets the deeper root. The mitzvah calls a person to look more deeply and not let anger erase the soul’s holiness.

Baal Shem Tov

• Source: Baal Shem Tov al HaTorah, Kedoshim.
• The Baal Shem Tov teaches that what a person notices sharply in another can reflect something he must repair within himself. This softens hatred. Instead of turning another Jew into an object of contempt, a person uses the encounter for humility and inner correction.

Tanya

• Source: Tanya, Likutei Amarim, Chapter 32.
• Tanya teaches that true אהבת ישראל — love of Israel comes from seeing the soul as primary and the body as secondary. Hatred grows when a person sees only external faults. When he remembers that Jewish souls share one root, hatred loses its foundation.

Sfas Emes

• Source: Sfas Emes, Kedoshim 5634.
• Sfas Emes teaches that the mitzvos of Kedoshim reveal hidden unity among Jews. Hatred covers that unity. The prohibition calls a person to uncover the deeper bond beneath frustration, difference, and injury.

Kedushas Levi

• Source: Kedushas Levi, Kedoshim, s.v. “לֹא תִשְׂנָא.”
• Kedushas Levi presents the mitzvah through compassion and favorable vision. A person should search for the good point in another Jew and resist reducing him to his failure. Seeing good weakens hatred and awakens love.

Shem MiShmuel

• Source: Shem MiShmuel, Kedoshim 5672.
• Shem MiShmuel explains that hatred scatters the heart and blocks kedushah — holiness. When a person holds resentment, his inner world becomes divided. Removing hatred allows the soul to return to wholeness and connection.

Ramchal

• Source: Ramchal, Mesillas Yesharim, Chapter 11.
• Ramchal teaches that נְקִיּוּת — cleanliness requires removing subtle interpersonal faults, including hatred, revenge, and anger. A person may justify resentment, but spiritual cleanliness demands that the heart be cleared of hidden corruption.

Mitzvah 15 appears in Parshas Kedoshim, in a cluster of mitzvos that build the inner and outer life of Jewish relationships. The same pasuk forbids hatred, commands rebuke, and warns not to carry sin because of another person. The next pasuk forbids revenge and grudge-bearing and commands loving one’s fellow.

This order is important. The Torah does not treat hatred as an isolated feeling. Hatred can lead to failed rebuke, revenge, grudges, lashon hara — harmful speech, embarrassment, and broken community. The mitzvah stops the damage at its root: the heart.

The mitzvah is also closely connected to Mitzvah 13, loving other Jews. Love is the positive direction. Not hating is the protective boundary. A person may not say he loves Klal Yisrael in general while allowing hatred toward an actual Jew to live inside him.

At the same time, Torah does not demand emotional dishonesty. If someone sinned or caused harm, the Torah gives tools: rebuke, clarification, distance when needed, and halachic guidance. What it forbids is letting hatred sit hidden and grow.