Love your fellow as yourself. Rabbi Akiva teaches that this is the greatest principle in the Torah. It is one thing to preach these words; it is another thing to live them.

We often ask, “Why are our friends not reaching out to us as a Jewish community?”

Yet, we do not ask enough, “Who are our potential friends that we have not yet met?”

Under the direction of Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, I have been honored to participate in the Voice of the People Council: 150 Jewish leaders from around the world, working to fall in love with the Jewish world’s problems. Through lengthy research, we decided to launch the Jewish-Indian Alliance. The Jewish and the Indian Diaspora share many aspects; values based on family and education, similar years of independence for their homelands, and a concentration on building sacred spaces that connect their faith to a global community.

Last week, in a historic launch at Sinai Temple, leaders of the BAPS Hindu Temple in Chino Hills visited our synagogue for Shabbat. Over lunch, we asked each other, “What do you want me to see in you?” and “What do I want you to see in me?” Through this simple question, the answer was quite clear; it was Rabbi Akiba’s interpretation of this verse, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

As the head of outreach from the BAPS Temple stood on our pulpit, he shared the most beautiful story of the guru visiting Israel in 1999, placing a yellow flower in the crevices of the Kotel, praying that all the notes we placed in over the years be answered.

On Sunday afternoon, as we visited the BAPS Temple and attended the sacred services filled with ancient language and music, we were shown a video of the guru’s visit to the holy land.

As I remarked to the BAPS Hindu community, in the words of Pirkei Avot, “kne lcha chaver.”

Acquire a friend. Join us together as we go from strength to strength.