What is it that you truly love? Whatever you have answered, don’t you wish to spread your love to others? For example, a grandmother who loves her grandkids will use every opportunity to show others pictures, tell over anecdotes, and boast of their accomplishments. A fan of a baseball team will yearn to share his passion with the world, while a scientist will feel the need to share his knowledge with anyone who cares to listen. It’s a fact that when one has a burning passion inside of him, he isn’t content keeping it inside. He feels an urge to share it with others. And all the more so when we have true ahavas Hashem.
What is the distinction between the first parsha of krias shema (Devarim 6) and the second parsha (Devarim 11)? Both contain the same mitzvos: tefillin, mezuzah, teaching Torah, and more. Yet Chazal define the first parsha as kabbalas ol malchus Shamayim - accepting Hashem's kingship - and the second as kabbalas ol mitzvos, accepting the yoke of mitzvos. Why the difference if both are mentioning the same mitzvos?
The Kesav V’Hakabala explains the passuk “V’ahavta es Hashem Elokecha” (Devarim 6:5) that the entire first parsha of Shema is built around one core mitzvah: Ahavas Hashem, the command to love the Ribbono Shel Olam. The rest of the parsha is not simply a list of obligations, but expressions of that love.
He explains that when the Torah continues with “V’shinantam l’vanecha” (you shall teach them to your children), it is not introducing a new mitzvah. Rather, it is describing the natural outgrowth of true Ahavas Hashem. When someone loves something deeply, they want to share it. If a person hears a great joke or sees something exciting, they can’t wait to tell a friend. All the more so with Torah; if one genuinely loves Torah and Hashem, he will feel compelled to share it, to spread it, to teach it.
With this in mind, the mitzvos in the first parsha of shema - tefillin, mezuzah, and teaching Torah - are not presented as obligations. They are acts of love. Putting tefillin on your body, affixing a mezuzah to your home, and teaching Torah are signs of a person who is bound up with Hashem through ahava.
The Kesav V’Hakabala adds that this is actually the simple pshat of the parsha. He says, “I wouldn't even need to explain this if not for the fact that many misunderstand it.”
In the first Parsha, when the Torah says “V’shinantam l’vanecha”, why do Chazal explain “ba’necha” to mean students? Shouldn’t the first use of the word “ba’necha” refer to actual children?
The answer, based on the Kesav V’hakabala, is beautiful. The Torah is not commanding us to teach. Rather, it's describing what a person filled with love for Hashem will do. When someone is overflowing with Ahavas Hashem, he doesn't limit his teaching to his biological children. He wants to share it with everyone - students, neighbors, anyone who will listen. It’s not a directive, it’s a description of what an oheiv Hashem naturally does.
The first parsha of shema is not merely teaching us about commandments; it’s about Ahavas Hashem. When one truly accepts ol malchus Shamayim, he isn’t just accepting Hashem as King in theory. He is embracing Hashem with heart and soul, and expressing that relationship through action, teaching, and personal symbols of connection. The core of all of this is ahava, and when we approach Shema with that lens, its words take on new meaning, depth, and clarity.
A young bachur had just finished saying over a beautiful shtickel Torah in the Beis Midrash. Rav Shlomo Heiman zt”l, Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaas, called him over and gently asked, “Tell me, do you love the Ribbono Shel Olam?” The boy was startled. “Rebbe... of course!” Rav Shlomo continued, “If you really love Him, how could you keep that Torah just to yourself until now? Why didn’t you run to share it the second you thought of it? When someone loves Hashem, he wants to share every precious thought, every insight, with the people around him, like someone who finds a treasure and can’t hold it in.”
Rav Shlomo wasn’t criticizing, he was teaching a yesod: Ahavas Hashem isn't just a feeling; it’s a fire that is burning in a yid’s heart, a fire that’s bursting through its confinement and just needs to spread further. When a person is filled with it, he becomes a walking shaliach of that love through his words, his actions, his example, and through teaching others.
