Part III. The Third Resolution
Four Lovely Words
We come now to our third kabalah, our third and final ‘resolution’, for erev Rosh Hashana and for the rest of the year. And it’s very simple. It’s just four words. Don’t tell anyone I told you this but once a day when nobody is looking and nobody is listening, say to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “I love You, Hashem.”
Did you ever say that in your life? There are even righteous people who never said it once in their lives! And it’s a command in the Torah: ה׳ ̇≈‡ ָּ ̇¿בַהָ‡¿ו ָיך∆ ֹ̃לו¡‡ – You should love Hashem with all your heart (Devarim 6:5). It’s one of the greatest, most important of all mitzvos, and yet it’s one of the most neglected of all.
Every day, twice a day, we remind ourselves, ָּ ̇¿בַהָ‡¿ו — you should love Hashem Elokecha. You're always talking about it, but when are you doing it?
Beyond Davening
That’s why the Chofetz Chaim says in Mishnah Berurah that when you're saying that possuk you should try to love Hashem. At least then—think for one second that you love Hashem. An excellent idea. Each time you say krias shema you think, “I love Hashem.”
But it could be you're in a big hurry while you're saying that, you forget. Also, you can’t speak then either; you can’t say it with your mouth. And so we’re going to recommend for ourselves the following kabbalah for the coming year: Every day find a few seconds in solitude and say “I love You, Hashem.” Go into a telephone booth, pick up the receiver and act like you're talking; you're making a long distance call to Hakadosh Baruch Hu and you say, “I love You, Hashem.”
A Lot of Love
Now, genuine ahavas Hashem is not as easy as that. Because to love Hashem means that we fix into our hearts an affection, an emotion of love towards Hashem; so much so, that the heart is filled with intense love and affection for Hashem and there’s no room for anything else.
The Rambam describes it as follows: ה∆‚ֹוׁ ̆ ‡ָˆ¿מƒנ¿ו הָבֲהַ‡ָה יƒל√ח ה∆ לֹחוּוּלƒ‡¿ּכ „יƒמָּ ּ̇הָּב – The one who loves Hashem is immersed in the love of Hashem at all times as if he was sick with love, ַ̇בֲהַ‡≈מ הָיּנו¿ּפ ֹוּ ̇¿עַּ„ ין≈‡∆ׁ ̆הָﬠָׁ ̆¿ּב ין≈ּב ֹמוּו ̃¿ּב ין≈ּב ֹוּ ̇¿בƒׁ ̆¿ּב ין≈ּב „יƒמָּ ּ̇הָּב ה∆‚ֹוׁ ̆ ‡ּהו¿ו הָּׁ̆ƒ‡ּהָ ֹ̇ו‡ה∆ ֹ̇וׁ ̆¿ו ל≈כֹו‡ ‡ּהו∆ׁ ̆ – he can’t keep his mind off Hashem; whether he's sitting in his house or walking in the street, when he's eating or drinking, he’s always immersed in thoughts of Hashem (Hilchos Teshuva 10:3).
There were people, even in our times, who lived like that. R' Yisroel Salanter, zichrono livrachah, was once arrested for that. He lived in Koenigsberg and he used to walk on the outskirts of the town and he used to make motions while he was talking to Hashem; he was brought to the police station because of that. Then those who knew him came and explained to the police that this man is engrossed in a very great emotion of love; he can’t help himself. So they wrote in his passport—in that place you had to carry around your papers with you all the time to show the police—so they wrote there: Immer versunken in philosophische gedanken. It means he is always immersed in philosophical thoughts. That’s what the police wrote in his passport so they shouldn’t bother him next time.
And so to achieve that requires a lot of work. It requires everything you have to love Hashem: לָכ¿ּבָך∆„ֹ‡¿מ לָכ¿בּוָך¿ׁ ̆¿פַנ לָכ¿בּוָך¿בָב¿ל. It’s the highest degree of perfection and it requires very great effort. The Chovos Halevavos tells us you have to go through all the preliminaries in his sefer—a long difficult sefer—until you come to the summit of ahavas Hashem.
A Little Love
But this mitzvah is not given only to great tzaddikim. It's for everybody, every boy and girl. Even an ignorant man is required to fulfill it. It doesn't mean they'll love Hakadosh Baruch Hu like Dovid Hamelech loved Hakadosh Baruch Hu or like the Chovos Halevavos did, but there is love for Hakadosh Baruch Hu that you can buy at bargain rates. And whatever you can achieve, it's precious.
You know, when you go into business so everybody likes to become a millionaire. But it doesn’t mean that you won’t do less. Even the man who has a peanut cart on the street corner, he sells peanuts, because a little bit is better than nothing. That's a klal gadol in hilchos business. You try to make whatever you can. Same thing, everybody would like to be a most perfect servant of Hashem and to love Hashem with all his heart, like the Chovos Halevavos, like the great Avraham Avinu. יƒבֲהֹ‡ םָהָר¿בַ‡ – Avraham who loves Me (Yeshaya 41:8). But if you’re not going to do that, at least a little bit you should love Him. You can learn to love Hashem even on a small scale.
Even a little bit, even one moment if you love Hashem, it's also worthwhile. A diamond is precious no matter how small it is, and this is one of the most precious gems in our lives. And it’s not too difficult. On a small scale, it’s certainly possible. And of course, if you keep on practicing, you’ll become more and more of an expert.
And just by saying it alone, ̇∆‡ ̇∆ר∆רֹעו¿מ ֹ̇וּיƒנֹוˆיƒחַה ֹ̇וּיƒימƒנ¿ּפַה – your exteriority bestirs your interiority. At first it may seem a small thing but you should know that it's going to have a powerful effect on your character. רּוּיבƒּ„ַה רַחַ‡ ̇∆כ∆ׁ ̆¿מƒנ הָבָׁ ̆¿חַּמַה – The thoughts follow the words. Saying it kindles at least a spark; it's going to kindle a fire in your heart. And it grows. Little by little, that love becomes part of your thoughts. You begin to actually love Hashem. And the more you say it, it can become an inferno, a blazing fire of ahavas Hashem.
Loving Gratitude
Of course, the more the words are backed up with thoughts and emotion, the greater the flame will be. Just to be a robot, to say words that are devoid of any thought, that’s nothing. So it pays to think, to prepare your mind.
And one of the easy ways to learn to love Hashem is, that when you enjoy something in this world, you should think of Hashem and love Him for it. If you're eating a delicious apple say, “I love You, Hashem – ı≈ﬠָה יƒר¿ּפ ‡≈רֹוּב 'ה הָּ ַ̇‡¿ךּרוָּב.” And learn to say it with ahavah.
You walk into a warm house on a cold night, and you rub your hands together. You’re thinking, “Aah! Nice and warm. I love Hashem for this. He gives me fuel and central heating and all the machinery necessary to keep my house warm.” And so, if nobody is around when you walk in the door, say, “I love You, Hashem.” Or when you sit down to supper, “I love You, Hashem.” You can love Him for the tasty chicken and potatoes.
Stimulating Love
And so ahavas Hashem is not difficult in this way. When a person loves Hashem in return for benefits that are being showered upon him, that's also love. While you’re healthy—you’re walking in the street and breathing the air and you’re full of food and your blood is coursing through your veins, love Hashem for that. You can love Hashem because you have two healthy eyes; not glass eyes. You'll love Hashem because you have your own teeth. And if you have false teeth, love Him because you have false teeth. Once upon a time there were no false teeth available so you can love Him for false teeth too.
If you'll learn to love Hashem because of your body which is functioning perfectly—you have good health—that’s excellent. If you can move your bowels comfortably, love Hashem for it! There are some people who have great difficulty. They suffer from constipation to no end, and you don't. So each time you come out, “I love You Hashem for that.”
And after a while you'll find many stimuli to cause this emotion of ahavas Hashem. And all of these emotions, little by little, will make the four words you say dynamite! And therefore, that’s our third kabbalah for the new year. Every day, when no one else is around—only Hashem is listening—we’ll make sure to say these four words “I love You, Hashem”.
It sounds funny, doesn't it? Listen to me; it's not funny at all. It’s the most serious thing in the world. Every day you can find a place, a corner, to be in solitude just for a few seconds; in a secret place, nobody is listening, nobody sees you. Say it in English. You want to say it in Yiddish? Very good. Ich hob Dir lieb, Ribono Shel Olam. Speak lashon kodesh. Speak Hungarian. Whatever suits you, but say it: “I love You Hashem.”
