Re: The Eichmann Effect, Allan Gould, June 3.

It's understandable that Allan Gould would end his article on the monster Adolf Eichmann on a happy religious note, but he goes overboard. When he writes that one of the 613 commandments in the Pentateuch is, "You shall not stand idly by when your neighbour's life is in danger" he interprets the object of the precept as all. In Orthodox Judaism, however, "neighbour" and "friend," as in "Love thy neighbour as thyself" refer only to a fellow Jew, according to the Talmud and other Jewish sages. It is only in the past two centuries that these commandments were broadened to include non-Jews. In Orthodox Judaism, there are other secondary rules concerning aid to Gentiles.

Mr. Gould also mentions that tikkun olam (healing the world) is another commandment in Judaism. False. It is certainly not one of the 613, but derived from a verse in a secondary prayer Aleinu, which states: "to repair the world under the sovereignty of God." Liberal Jews omit the last part. Since Judaism is a God-centred religion, their mangled slogan is meaningless. It's no different than Madonna abusing the Jewish mysticism of Kaballah.

Jacob Mendlovic, Toronto.