Kommentar zu Wajikra 19:34

כי גרים הייתם FOR YE WERE STRANGERS [IN THE LAND OF EGYPT] — "Do not reproach thy fellow-man for a fault which is also thine” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 22:20).

כאזרח מכם, "he shall be like a natural-born resident amongst you." Here the Torah reveals the mystical dimension (i.e. their spiritual status) of all the souls of the Jewish people while they were submerged in Egypt and its culture amongst the various nations. This is why the Torah describes them as "like one of your very own," i.e. you have much more in common with converts than you think. Should you query how it is possible that the seed of wicked people, someone whose father was a Gentile, could suddenly be rated as equal to people whose fathers were beloved of G'd, the Torah reminds us כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים, "that the souls of these strangers (converts) were intertwined with those of your own when you were still in Egypt." Please read what I have written on this subject in Parshat Yitro on 20,2 (page 673) and the meaning of "I have taken you out of Egypt, etc." What applied to that situation also applies to the situation described here. The "stranger" who was part of the קליפות, the spiritually negative domain, has come to take refuge under the wings of G'd's שכינה. As of now his soul has returned to its holy roots. Once we adopt this approach it is clear that when the Torah speaks of כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים, "for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt," the Torah compliments the converts. If the Torah were concerned only with the conversion of people whose souls were never attached to sanctity and whose bodies now wanted to become part of the families of the Israelites, it is hardly likely that they would suddenly become beloved by G'd seeing that their family background is so different. Jewish families are not comparable to Gentile families. The only reason these proselytes are embraced wholeheartedly by the Torah is that the Torah views these converts as people who are returning to their roots.

LOVE HIM LIKE YOURSELF: The nations of the ancient world would only love their own people, and they would defraud other peoples because they saw them as despicable foreigners. Therefore, it says here, that you need to love him like yourself, and act toward him just as you would want. You should act towards him as you would want other people to act toward you if you were a foreigner. This is in accord with what is written several verses earlier (Leviticus 19:18): "Love your neighbor (re'ah) as yourself"

כאזרח מכם, “as if a natural born Jew.” Just like a natural born Jew is expected to observe aj] the laws of the Torah, so is this convert expected to do so. This verse is the reason why the sages ruled that if a convert is prepared to accept all the laws of Judaism with the exception of one, he is not accepted as a convert. Rabbi Joseph son of Rabbi Yehudah said that even it the prospective convert refuses to accept any of the nonbiblical protective clauses of the Torah he is not to be accepted. (Sifra)

אני ה' אלהיכם I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD — Thy God and his God am I! (אלהיכם “your” God — the God of both of you).

כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים, “for you were treated as strangers while in Egypt.” Rashi comments on this phrase that we must not be critical of a shortcoming of a stranger and treat him as second class, as we did not like it when we were treated as second class during the hundreds of years we were in Egypt. While there we worshipped the same idols that the Egyptians had worshipped, so that we have nothing to feel superior about. Joshua reminded the people of this shortly before his death in (Joshua 24,14)