ואהבת לרעך כמוך – שיר על חברות

What does “ve’ahavta lere’akha kamokha” mean?

This children’s friendship song is built on ואהבת לרעך כמוך — “love your fellow as yourself,” straight from Leviticus 19:18. It arrives in full biblical grammar: the opening ־ו means “and you shall,” and רֵעַ is the old word for “fellow, friend” — today’s everyday word is חבר. It’s a living sample of Torah Hebrew that even Israeli kindergartners sing without blinking.

The song glosses the verse for kids: זה סימן שחברים — “it’s a sign you’re friends.” Rabbi Akiva famously called this line “a great principle of the Torah,” which is why it turns up on classroom walls, posters, and songs like this one. רֵעַ survives in modern Hebrew mostly in set phrases and in רעות — “camaraderie.”