The Measure of Ahavas Yisrael
Chassidim once approached the legendary Lubavitcher chassid, Reb Mendel Futerfas, with the following question. “It is said that it will be with true brotherly love and ahavas chaverim that we will go toward Mashiach. How do we measure true ahavas Yisrael?” Reb Mendel answered as follows:
There are many levels in ahavas Yisrael. The first level is when you hear that your friend has transgressed a terrible aveirah, R”l, and the first emotion that comes to mind is genuine sadness that your friend stooped to this, and the second immediate thought is, “How can I help him.” There is no anger, there is no judgment of “Look at what people stoop to these days....” There is simple compassion and a desire to help. This is the basic level of ahavas Yisrael.
Not Being Afraid to Share
The second level, continued Reb Mendel, is when you were, R”l, entrapped into doing an aveirah, and you know that you have a good friend in whom you can confide, and you aren’t afraid of his judgment or that you will be lowered in his eyes—and to the contrary, you are confident that he will do everything to help you to return to the proper way... this is the second, even higher, level of ahavas Yisrael: it doesn’t occur to you that you will be judged; you think, “Of course I will share my failure with him; we are such close friends!” Where there is true friendship, there is no issue being open with our flaws to one another.
Rejoicing at the Sight of Your Friend
And the third level of ahavas Yisrael, said Reb Mendel, is when you’re walking in the street in a downcast state, and suddenly you see your friend approaching...And the moment you set eyes on him, you forget all your troubles and you’re filled with great joy. This is the pinnacle of ahavas Yisrael.
And we will explain: What do people need when they’re down? They need HaKadosh Baruch Hu to smile down at them... this is what would uplift them. If he were to encounter the Shechinah, the meeting would completely lift him up; all his sadness would immediately disappear.
