Parked in front of our Jerusalem apartment are two cars with intriguing bumper stickers. One reads “Shemor merchak — Keep your distance” while the other reads “Le’ehov kol Yehudi — Love every Jew.”
Nothing unusual there. It’s only that their close proximity to one another raises an impish question: How can I love all Jews if I have to keep my distance from them? I let the question hang in the air and go about my daily chores. In the evening when I return home the two bumper stickers are still there as if challenging me. I try to ignore them but the question will not go away. Was there any deeper meaning in this strange juxtaposition? Maybe it is just an odd coincidence and then again maybe there is something to be learned from this.
To amuse myself I try a little exegesis. The message is about distance versus closeness. Suddenly a mysterious passage in Mishlei 25:17 becomes clear to me. In it King Solomon says: “Hokar raglecha mibeis rei’echa pen yisba’acha u’snei’echa — Make your foot scarce in the house of your friend lest he have too much of you and so hate you.” This is a lesson in friendship. Be close but do not suffocate. Be supportive helpful caring but know when to pull back and give your friend a chance to be himself. Respect his privacy; give him space. There is a time to love him and a time to keep separate.
Or perhaps this is a message about the two prototypes that govern human relationships. There are those who are concerned only with themselves who want to be left alone who keep distant from everyone; and there are those who care about others and are interested in them who cherish the warmth of human companionship who gain strength from mingling with others and interacting with them. The loners say “Keep your distance.” The minglers say “Love everyone.”
