It emerges then that the איסור of tormenting a Ger here is different than the איסור of אונאת הגר elsewhere [in Bava Metzia 59b it says that it was prohibited in 36 places and some say 46]. Elsewhere, it refers to the essential hurt caused to the Ger just as it is forbidden to hurt the feelings of any Jew. There is an added איסור when it comes to a Ger either because he is liable to revert back to his previous lifestyle [סורו רע] or because [as the Rambam says] he is especially sensitive. Here however it refers to a unique case of hurting the Ger by relating to him in such a way that makes him feel that he isn't a Jew in good standing. This is a different category of anguish.
With this we can understand what it says here in פסוק ל"ד:
כְּאֶזְרָ֣ח מִכֶּם֩ יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם הַגֵּ֣ר׀ הַגָּ֣ר אִתְּכֶ֗ם וְאָהַבְתָּ֥ לוֹ֙ כָּמ֔וֹךָ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Hashem your God.
Rashi says:
"מום שבך אל תאמר לחברך".
"A blemish you have don't tell to your friend".
This is hard to understand. Is the din stated here a חיוב on this matter of מום שבך [a blemish that you have etc.] that we should say that for this reason it is forbidden to cause him pain and we are obligated in "כאזרח מכם"? The issue is that one may not cause a Ger pain! It has NOTHING TO DO with מום שבך?
Also, the previous pasuk spoke about [according to Rashi] the fact that one should tell a Ger who is learning Torah that a person who served idols yesterday is learning Torah today?! What has that to do with this pasuk of "כאזרח כגר"?
Based on what we said we can explain that פסוק ל"ד is telling us how to overcome the yetzer hara that there is to cause the Ger the anguish mentioned in פסוק ל"ג which is saying that he is inferior and has no right to learn Torah. The way to deal with this poisonous attitude is "כאזרח כגר" - view him as a native born Jew and not a stranger and in addition and love him as yourself. If you shift your perspective then you will be able to fulfill what it says in פסוק ל"ג.
With this we can answer the question of the Alshich who asked that the words "הגר הגר אתכם" - the Ger living with you - are superfluous because we already know that we are talking about a Ger, as it says in the pasuk "כאזרח מכם יהיה לכם וכו' כי גרים" etc. Based on what we said we can answer very well. This pasuk is advice how to fulfill what it says in פסוק כ"ג. There we are told about a Ger who is both אתך and בארצכם in Eretz Yisrael. So this pasuk continues with that line of thought and says that this Ger who is הגר הגר אתכם - He is both part of your family and living with you in Eretz Yisrael and in these areas is considered a kosher Jew and should ALSO be treated as a full fledged Jew vis a vis Talmud Torah.
Now we can also understand the Rambam in the Sefer Hamitzvos [207] the Ya"d [Deos 6-4] and the Chinuch [431] who wrote that there is a special mitzvas aseh to love Geirim and they cite the pasuk in Eikev [10-19]: "ואהבתם את הגר כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים". Why don't they quote the pasuk here in Parshas Kedoshim that comes earlier? [The Avodas Hamelech in Deos 6-6 asks this question and notes that the Maharshal in his commentary on the Smag 'מצות עשה י quotes our pasuk here. but the Rambam and Chinuch don't. He remains with the question]. The answer is that our pasuk is not a mitzva per se to love the Ger but rather guiding us how to avoid the איסור of אונאה - by viewing the Ger as a pure bred Jew and loving him as we would ourselves [like every other Jew]. Only in Parshas Ekev is there an actual mitzva to love Geirm and therefore the Rambam and Chinuch quoted the later pasuk as the source for the mitzva.
INTOXICATING!
[The question on Rashi's מום שבך will hopefully be addressed in a future post].
