V’Ahavta — And You Shall Love
Hebrew: וְאָהַבְתָּ | Source: Devarim 6:5
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”
The Three Dimensions of Love
B’Chol Levavcha — With All Your Heart
Rashi notes that levavcha (heart) is spelled with double beit (לְבָבְךָ) — with both your inclinations, both the yetzer tov (good inclination) and the yetzer ha-ra (evil inclination). Even the animal soul must be brought into service of Divine love.
In Chabad: the fullest love of God includes even the animal soul’s energy directed toward God. This is the work of birurim — elevating the natural drives.
B’Chol Nafshecha — With All Your Soul
The Talmud interprets this as “even if He takes your soul” — the readiness for mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice). This connects to the level of Yechidah — the deepest soul-point that is willing to be completely surrendered.
B’Chol Me’odecha — With All Your Might/Measure
Rashi: with all your money (the thing people most guard). The Talmud also reads me’od (much) as referring to every measure God sends — even difficult circumstances should be occasions for loving God.
The Alter Rebbe on Love of God
The Alter Rebbe distinguishes between:
- Natural love (ahavah tiv’it) — the soul’s inherent yearning for its source
- Intellectual love (ahavah she’min ha-sekhel) — generated by hitbonenut
- Inherited love (ahavah moreshiah) — absorbed from the patriarchs’ service
All three are available; Chabad emphasizes cultivating the second to strengthen and stabilize the first.
Sources
- Tanya, Chapters 3, 16-17, 44
- Alter Rebbe