Divine authority

This explanation of the text understands the command to "love" as a command to conquer any natural inclinations that might lead you to harm other people - regardless of whether they are like you or not, whether they live close to you or not, or whether you understand why they want what they want.

The requirement to love one another is not simply a feel-good religious motto, but rather a challenge to infuse our actions with meaning. We are tasked with imbuing everything we do with deep thought and evaluating the consequences.

This is a huge challenge to ask of human beings. Are we even capable of achieving this goal?

The answer can be found in the last words of our pasuk - "Ani Hashem." Why is this phrase tacked on to the end of our pasuk? What does it have to do with the rest of the pasuk? Let's look at it again:

יח. לֹא-תִקֹּם וְלֹא-תִטֹּר אֶת-בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ, וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ: אֲנִי, ה.

18. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

It doesn't flow naturally from the rest of the pasuk.

Let's look at how the commentators explain why this phrase is here.