והשנית היא אהבה שכל אדם יוכל להגיע אליה, כשיתבונן היטב בעומקא דלבא

The second [level] is a love which every man can attain when he meditates earnestly, so that its echo resounds in the depths of his heart,

בדברים המעוררים את האהבה לה׳ בלב כל ישראל

on matters that arouse the love of G‑d in the heart of every Jew,

הן דרך כלל: כי הוא חיינו ממש, וכאשר האדם אוהב את נפשו וחייו, כן יאהב את ה׳, כאשר יתבונן וישים אל לבו כי ה׳ הוא נפשו האמיתית וחייו ממש

whether [he meditates] in a general way — how He is our very life,18 and just as one loves his soul and his life, so will he love G‑d when he meditates and reflects in his heart that G‑d is his true soul and actual life,

כמו שכתוב בזהר על פסוק: נפשי אויתיך וגו׳

as the Zohar19 comments on the verse,20 “[You are] my soul: I desire you,”

The Zohar explains that since G‑d is the Jew’s soul and thus his true life, the Jew loves and desires Him.21

והן דרך פרט, כשיבין וישכיל בגדולתו של מלך מלכי המלכים, הקב״ה, דרך פרטית

or whether [he meditates] in a particular way,22 when he will understand and comprehend in detail the greatness of the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He,

For example, he may reflect on the manner in which G‑d fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds, and on how all creatures are as naught before Him.

כאשר יוכל שאת בשכלו, ומה שלמעלה משכלו

to the extent that his intellect can grasp, and even beyond.

These two phrases refer respectively to concepts that are within the reach of “positive knowledge,” and to truths that lie beyond it and are perceptible only through “negative knowledge”; i.e., though one may not understand such a thing itself, he may understand how it is not subject to the restrictions of a lesser order.

In terms of comprehending G‑dliness this means to say, that one will at least understand that those levels of G‑dliness that are beyond the range of his intellect are not subject to the limitations inherent within created and emanated worlds and beings. This “negative knowledge” — in the Alter Rebbe’s words, “even beyond” — is also considered to be a quasi state of comprehension.

ואחר כך יתבונן באהבת ה׳ הגדולה ונפלאה אלינו

Then, following his meditation “in a particular way,” he will contemplate G‑d’s great and wondrous love to us, a love that led Him*—

לירד למצרים, ערות הארץ, להוציא נשמותינו מכור הברזל, שהוא הסטרא אחרא, רחמנא לצלן

to descend even to Egypt, the23 “obscenity of the earth,” to bring our souls out of the24 “iron crucible” into which the Jewish people had then descended, which is the sitra achra (may the All-Merciful spare us),

לקרבנו אליו ולדבקנו בשמו ממש, והוא ושמו אחד

to bring us close to Him and to bind us to His very Name — and He and His Name are One, so that by being bound to His Name we were bound to G‑d Himself;

דהיינו: שרוממנו מתכלית השפלות והטומאה לתכלית הקדושה, וגדולתו יתברך שאין לה קץ ותכלית

that is to say, He elevated us from the nadir of degradation and defilement to the acme of holiness and to His infinite and boundless greatness.25

When one has meditated in detail upon G‑d’s greatness and His tremendous love for the Jewish people:

אזי כמים הפנים לפנים

Then,26 “As in water, face reflects face, [so does the heart of man to man,]”

Just as one person’s love for another awakens a loving response in the other’s heart, so, too, our contemplation of the ways in which G‑d has manifested His love towards us will inspire within us a love for Him,

תתעורר האהבה בלב כל משכיל ומתבונן בענין זה בעומקא דלבא

and love will be aroused in the heart of everyone who contemplates and meditates upon this matter in the depths of his heart,

לאהוב את ה׳ אהבה עזה, ולדבקה בו בלב ונפש, כמו שיתבאר במקומה באריכות

to love G‑d with an intense love and to cleave unto Him, heart and soul, as will be explained at length in its place.27

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והנה ענין אהבה זו רצה משה רבנו עליו השלום ליטע בלב כל ישראל, בפרשה: ועתה ישראל וגו׳

It is this love — this latter manner of love, which may be generated by contemplation — that Moses, our teacher, peace unto him, wished to implant in the heart of every Jew, in the passage,28 “And now, Israel,…”

בפסוק: הן לה׳ אלקיך השמים וגו׳

in the verse that speaks of G‑d’s greatness, “Behold, the heavens belong to G‑d, your L‑rd…” and likewise in the following verses that speak of G‑d’s love for His people:

רק באבותיך חשק וגו׳, ומלתם וגו׳, בשבעים נפש וגו׳

“Only in your fathers did He delight… You shall circumcise…. With seventy souls [did your forefathers descend to Egypt, and now He has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven].”

All the above inevitably leads to the first verse in the following chapter, namely:

ואהבת וגו׳

29“You shall love [the L‑rd your G‑d…].”

ולכן סיים דבריו על אהבה זו: אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם לעשותה

Hence [Moshe Rabbeinu] concluded his words in the later verse quoted above concerning this love,30 “… which I command you to do,”

Here, then, is the answer to the above query as to how it is possible to “do” or to create the spiritual emotion of love:

שהיא אהבה עשויה בלב, על ידי הבינה והדעת בדברים המעוררים את האהבה

for this is a love that is produced in the heart through the understanding and self-involving knowledge of matters that inspire love.

But if the verse is in fact referring to the kind of love that is created through contemplation, should it not first command one to contemplate? Indeed so, the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say:

ועל זה צוה כבר תחלה: והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך היום על לבבך

And this he had commanded previously, in the first paragraph of Shema:31 “And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart,”

כדי שעל ידי זה תבא לאהבה את ה׳, כדאיתא בספרי על פסוק זה

so that through this [meditation] you will come to love G‑d, as is stated in the Sifri on this verse.32

והנה על אהבה זו השנית, שייך לשון מצוה וצווי

An expression of command (“which I command you to do — to love”) can thus be applied to this second type of intellectually-generated love,

It might seem that to command a person to experience love would be either fruitless or superfluous. Not so, however, with regard to the kind of love that is born of contemplation. Here, one can indeed be given a command:

דהיינו: לשום לבו ודעתו בדברים המעוררים את האהבה

namely, to focus one’s heart and mind on matters that arouse love.

אבל באהבה ראשונה, שהיא שלהבת העולה מאליה, לא שייך לשון צווי ומצוה כלל

But an expression of command is not at all applicable to the first kind of love, which is a flame that ascends of its own accord.

ולא עוד, אלא שהיא מתן שכרם של צדיקים, לטעום מעין עולם הבא בעולם הזה

Furthermore, it is the reward of the tzaddikim, to savor a foretaste of the World to Come in this world.

In the World to Come the righteous bask in the rays of the Divine Presence: they delight in their perception of G‑dliness. And it is this delight that tzaddikim enjoy in this world when they serve G‑d with love.

שעליה נאמר: עבודת מתנה אתן את כהונתכם, כמו שיתבאר במקומה

Concerning this [level of love] it is written,33 “I have granted [you] your priesthood as a Divine service which is a gift,” as will be explained in its proper place, namely, where the Divinely-bestowed gift of ahavah betaanugim is discussed.

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