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Friday

י"ט אדר ב’ התשפ"ד

Friday
י"ט אדר ב’ התשפ"ד

חיפוש בארכיון

2. Love of God (b)

What is the path to love of Hashem? Here is what one should think about: It is, after all, the norm to love one’s benefactor, even if it was only a minor benefit and all the more so if it was a major one. And if the benefactor provided someone with all his sustenance and extended all sorts of kindness to him, then even more so would the recipient say to himself: “What can I do to repay this man who has done such kindness and giving to me? Why, even if I lived for a thousand years, I would not be able to thank him enough! If he were to send me on an errand to great distances in the middle of the night, I would still be obliged to follow his wishes. I cannot turn him away—I owe him so much!” Now, if the benefactor saved him from some illness or great pain, or if he saved him from some serious disfiguration or deformity, one’s gratitude would be that much greater. And if he rescued him from death to life, one’s love would be much, much greater. And so on, for there are many levels of love, one higher than the next. And all the more so—many times over—is it proper to love the Creator, from Whom all the good in the world—whether they come [directly] from Heaven or from [fellow] humans—all stem from Him, may He be blessed, for it is He Who plants in the hearts of all His creatures [the will] to grant good to one another, and [therefore they are all] His agents.

“My brothers and my nation, take this sefer Torah, and with this, and like this learn well, so that you should have it good; listen and enliven your soul, and achieve gladness and joy in this world and the world to come” (From the author’s intro.)