The connection between Ahavat Yisrael and the future Redemption is not (only) that through nullifying the cause of the exile (baseless hatred) the exile is nullified. Rather, in that we are now standing after the completion of our work over the course of exile, and after completing all 42 journeys in “the desert of the nations”, we are at “at Yarden Yericho” (the level of Moshiach, who judges by sense of smell [the word “to smell” shares the same root as the name Yericho]), on the threshold of Redemption. Thus, we have certainly rectified the reason for the exile. Therefore, the emphasis on Ahavat Yisrael is now as a foretaste and beginning of the true and complete Redemption.
Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Matot Masei, 5751 (1991)
