LEV643 Just as the physical can serve as an entrée to the spiritual, so can the spiritual be an invitation to the physical. Human love can serve as a path to love us God, but to be complete, love of God must be a portal to love of one's fellow. In this view, communion with God is the foundation for ethical behavior. Figuratively, the verse, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord" (this verse) was taken to refer the to the love of God, i.e., one's "neighbor" is God. (See Rashi to Shabbat 31a; also see Exodus Rabbah 27:1). Literally, the verse was taken to refer to one's fellow human being. In other words, love of God is the premise upon which ethics rest. Through love of the Creator, one comes to a love of His creatures. As a rabbinic text states, commenting on this verse, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself because I am the Lord, because I have created him." Avot d'Rabbi Natan, Solomon Schechter, "A" chap. 16 end, p. 32b.