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True Friendship

The time period between Passover and Shavuot (the Omer) is characterized by an emphasis on personal growth and unity. The Torah was given to the Jewish People on Shavuot only after the Jewish People were unified as a nation - united by bonds of friendship and care. Rabbi Akiva said “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the central principal of the Torah. Learn to be a true friend and you will be the source of much goodness and happiness in the world.

The characteristics or a true friend are loyalty and identity. There is a classic story about friendship in Jewish consciousness:

There were once two close friends - one lived in Rome and the other in Syria . The Roman Empire had fragmented, and, as always, the Middle East turned into a theater of conflict as the Roman and Syrian Caesars battled each other for control. At the time when the war broke out, the Roman friend was on a business trip to Syria and was arrested as a spy. After the Syrian Emperor sentenced him to death, the man pleaded: "I'm innocent, but I have no way of proving it. If I am to be executed, at least allow me to return to Rome to settle my affairs and bid farewell to my wife and children." The Emperor laughed harshly, but the man persisted: "I have a friend in Syria who will guarantee my return." This intrigued the Emperor, who allowed the Roman to carry out his plan. He summoned the Syrian friend to court and explained: "We will give this man sixty days to return to Rome and settle his affairs. Are you willing to stand in for him in prison during that time? If he fails to return, you will be executed in his stead!" The Syrian friend readily consented and the Roman set sail for home. He cleared up his affairs, said goodbye to his children, they cried and he set sail to return. Unfortunately, his ship was detained en route back to Syria and the allotted time elapsed. The gloating Emperor ordered that the Syrian be removed for public execution. They took him to the town and were about to execute him when finally the Roman arrived, just in the nick of time. As the executioner raised his axe, the Roman cried out: "Stop! I'm the one to be executed!" The executioner agreed, but the Syrian said: "No! The time has elapsed and I'm his guarantor. Therefore you should execute me!" The Roman protested strongly and they began to argue it out back and forth. The public was in uproar - no one knew what to do. Finally they called in the Emperor himself to decide. So, he listens to the one friend saying "You have got to kill me!" and then the other saying, "No, you lost your chance. You didn't come back in time." He turns to them both and says. "I will let you both go on one condition… you make me a third friend!"

This story helps us understand why the Torah juxtaposes the two phrases: "Love thy neighbor as thyself; I am the Lord Your G-d." When you love your neighbor as yourself, the Creator of the universe becomes your third friend!

Being a true friend with loyalty and commitment brings blessing, power and goodness to our lives.