Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your G-d... (Va’eschanan 6:4-5).
The Maggid of Mezeritch expounded on the verse “And you shall love the Lord your G-d”: how can there be a commandment to love? Love is a feeling of the heart: one who has the feeling—loves. What can a person do if, G-d forbid, love is not imbedded in his heart? How can the Torah instruct “you shall love” as if it were a matter of choice?
But the commandment actually lies in the previous verse, “Hear O Israel.” The Hebrew word Sh’mah (‘hear’) also means ‘understand.’ The Torah is commanding a person to study, comprehend, and reflect upon the oneness of G-d. Because of the nature of the human mind and heart, and the relationship between them, this will inevitably lead to a love of the Almighty since, in essence, the mind rules the heart. If one contemplates deeply and yet is still not excited with a love of G-d, this is only because he has not sufficiently refined and purified himself of the things which stifle his capacity to sense and relate to the Divine. Aside from this, such contemplation by the mind will always result in a feeling of love...
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok of Lubavitch
By Yanki Tauber
Published by Kehot Publication Society
