DEUT231 See [[LEV907]] Leviticus 22:32 profane AMJV 343-4

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DEUT229 See [[LEV647]] Leviticus 19:18 love BLOCH 35-6

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DEUT216 It is a positive commandment to love the blessed God with all one's heart, spirit and might as Scripture states, And you shall love Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might [this verse]. This is the way toward love for him: When we will meditate on His activities until we comprehend Him to the extent of our ability, the heart will become inflamed with a love for Him; this is the love that is essential for us. So let a person set his entire thought on affection for the blessed God. A man cannot love the Holy One, Blessed is He, except through knowledge, by comprehending Him. Through this knowledge the affection comes: if it [the knowledge] is a little, then a little [love]; if it is much, then much. Therefore a person needs to set himself solely to understand and grow wise through the fields of wisdom and comprehension that convey the glory of his Maker, to the extent of the ability that a person has to understand and realize. This is among the commandments that a person has a duty to observe at every occasion and every moment. Included in this mitzvah [is the obligation] to bring human beings closer to His service and worship (blessed is He), and to make Him beloved by His human beings, as Abraham our father did (peace abide with him) -- as Scripture states, and the souls that they had formed in Haran (B're'shith 12:5). For this reason the Holy One, Blessed is He, called him His friend, as it says, Abraham My friend (Yesha'yahu 41:8).

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DEUT219 Love Hashem. In the words of the Sifri [i.e., a collection of midrash on Deuteronomy—AJL], “How does a person go about achieving love for Hashem? [Hashem commands] ‘And these words that I command you today shall be on your hearts.’” That is, by means of studying and reflecting upon the Torah, love of Hashem is certain to be generated in one's heart. Having achieved this love, one feels obligated to do as Avraham Avinu--to help others to achieve this love and to guide them towards devoted service of Hashem. Key concept is obvious, for unless one loves his Maker, he will not properly fulfill His commandments. It is fitting for a person to put all of his thoughts and energy towards the goal of achieving love for Hashem. He should remind himself at all times that whatever there is in the world--wealth, children, honor or anything else-- all are nothing compared to love for Hashem. At all times, one should strive for wisdom, in order to attain as much recognition of Hashem as possible. In sum, do everything in your power to train your heart so that all day long, your only thoughts are about אמונתו ויחודו-- faith in Him and His One-ness. Try to reach a point that never, even for a moment, you forget your wholehearted love for Him. One violates this mitzvah when one places his affection in materialistic matters, in the fleeting pleasures of the physical world, to selfishly indulge in them not for the sake of Heaven, or one thirsts to obtain honor in this world of lies. By filling one's heart with such desires, one nullifies the positive command to love Hashem, and one’s punishment is great. Like the mitzvah above [See [[DEUT198]] Deuteronomy 6:4 believe CHINUCH 272-3], this one, too, is one of the Torah’s six constant commandments [also cited in the Mishnah Berurah, Siman 1 in the Biur Halachah, s.v. Hu klal.], for love of Hashem must fill our hearts always.

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DEUT238 Though fear and love came to be used in combination, the rabbis call attention to the root differences. Commenting on [this verse], "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," the Sifre observes: "Scripture has distinguished between one who serves God from love and one who serves Him from fear.… Sometimes a man who is afraid of his fellow will leave him when he becomes troublesome and go his way. But act thou out of love, for there is no love where there is fear, nor fear where there is love, except in relation God alone." Sifra 32. R. Simeon b. Eleazar teaches: "Greater is he who acts from love than he who acts from fear." Abraham is the prototype of God-loving men; Job of God-fearing men, though on the ground of Job 13:15 and 27:5 he too was claimed to have served God from the motive of pure love. Sotah 31a; 5:5, Zohar, I, 11b.

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DEUT225 See [[DEUT341]] Deuteronomy 7:9 steadfast DORFFDRAG 124-5

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DEUT214 How many kinds of love of God are there? I would say, in response to this question, [as follows]. A servant's love for his master will be one of three kinds: (1) He may love his master for the latter's goodness and kindness toward him. (2) He may love his master because the latter overlooks his transgressions and freely forgives him and pardons his sins. (3) He may love him on account of his greatness and glory and out of reference for his very essence--not because he expects to receive something [from him] and not out of fear. Analogously, we may love God on account of His abounding kindness and constant goodness toward us; we become deeply absorbed in love of Him out of hope for His reward. We may love God because He conceals our sins and overlooks our transgressions, despite our widespread defiance of Him and disobedience of His commandments. We may love Him on account of His very essence, to magnify Him and exalt Him. This [last kind] is the pure love of God, may He be exalted. The prophet, peace be upon him, emphasize this [love] to us when he said, “Love Hashem your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Devarim 6:5).

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DEUT226 See [[EXOD354]] Exodus 20:2 other DUTIES 63-7

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DEUT224 See [[DEUT194]] Deuteronomy 6:2 revere GREENBERG 82

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DEUT212 For the rabbis, love of God was not to be a rare emotion, restricted to a spiritual elite in fleeting moments of rapture, but a perpetual opportunity, an everyday activity. By Ioving God through one's normal behavior, one causes God to be loved by others; one sets an example for others. In the words of a midrash, "'You shall love the Lord your God' can be taken to mean that you should cause God to be loved by others – that is, you are to cause God to be loved by humankind. Hence you are to be loving in the give-and-take of every day life and in your goings about in the marketplace and in dealing with others." Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, chap. 26, p. 140. In other words, a lover is delighted with the opportunity to carry out the wishes of his or her beloved. The commandments of the Torah express the will of God and consequently the command to love means that we behave toward God as a lover behaves towards his or her beloved. Performing the commandments is not a means toward love of God, it is love of God. In this view, loving is doing. Love is not a prelude to action, but action itself. Love is not an ethereal emotion, but concrete deeds. Love is expressed as deed.

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