I won't do it to please somebody else if it don't feel right
But I'll do it for you, and at least I'll try
I don't need any other reason if I feel it deep inside
I'll do it for love - I'll do it for love.
- Daryl Hall and John Oates
וְזֹ֣את הַמִּצְוָ֗ה הַֽחֻקִּים֙ וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֛ה יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם לְלַמֵּ֣ד אֶתְכֶ֑ם לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת בָּאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֛ם עֹבְרִ֥ים שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃
And this is the Instruction—the laws and the rules—that Adonai your God has commanded [me] to impart to you, to be observed in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy...
וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ׃
You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
ואהבת - Fulfill God's commands out of love, for one who acts out of love is not like one who acts out of fear. A person who serves a master out of fear, if the master troubles him overmuch, leaves him and goes away (Sifrei Devarim 32:1).
The heart refers to knowledge. It is another term for the spirit of intelligence, for the heart is its first residence.
ואהבת - you will then enjoy doing things which are pleasing to God when you understand that there is nothing in this world which is more worth doing.
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love (וְאָהַבְתָּ) your fellow as yourself: I am Adonai.
(לד) כְּאֶזְרָ֣ח מִכֶּם֩ יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם הַגֵּ֣ר ׀ הַגָּ֣ר אִתְּכֶ֗ם וְאָהַבְתָּ לוֹ֙ כָּמ֔וֹךָ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love (וְאָהַבְתָּ) each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I, Adonai, am your God.
A chasid once asked a tzaddik: “why is it customary to say l’chaim before reciting kiddush? Is it not disrespectful to bless mortals before blessing the Immortal One?”
The tzaddik answered, “the word V’ahavta, you shall love, occurs three times in the Torah. It first occurs in the famous phrase, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev. 19:18). The second time, it occurs in the phrase, “you shall love him—the stranger—as yourself” (Lev. 19:34). Finally, it appears in Parashat Va’etchanan (Deut 6:5): ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”
The tzaddik continued, “And why do you think that the verse mentioning the love of God is mentioned last, after the verses about loving your neighbor and loving the stranger? Because if you do not love people, you cannot love God.”
(ז) לֹ֣א מֵֽרֻבְּכֶ֞ם מִכׇּל־הָֽעַמִּ֗ים חָשַׁ֧ק יְהֹוָ֛ה בָּכֶ֖ם וַיִּבְחַ֣ר בָּכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־אַתֶּ֥ם הַמְעַ֖ט מִכׇּל־הָעַמִּֽים׃ (ח) כִּי֩ מֵאַֽהֲבַת יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶתְכֶ֗ם וּמִשׇּׁמְר֤וֹ אֶת־הַשְּׁבֻעָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נִשְׁבַּע֙ לַאֲבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם הוֹצִ֧יא יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם בְּיָ֣ד חֲזָקָ֑ה וַֽיִּפְדְּךָ֙ מִבֵּ֣ית עֲבָדִ֔ים מִיַּ֖ד פַּרְעֹ֥ה מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרָֽיִם׃
It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that Adonai grew attached to you and chose you—indeed, you are the smallest of peoples; but it was because Adonai loved you [מֵאַֽהֲבַת] and kept the oath made to your fathers that Adonai freed you with a mighty hand and rescued you from the house of bondage, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
(יח) עֹשֶׂ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט יָת֖וֹם וְאַלְמָנָ֑ה וְאֹהֵ֣ב גֵּ֔ר לָ֥תֶת ל֖וֹ לֶ֥חֶם וְשִׂמְלָֽה׃ (יט) וַאֲהַבְתֶּם אֶת־הַגֵּ֑ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
[Adonai] upholds the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing food and clothing. You too must love (וַאֲהַבְתֶּם) the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
I have observed that most people swing back and forth, from the love side to the obligation side, and that we do best when we catch ourselves--or we catch each other, lovingly, when we have let ourselves veer too far to one side or the other. As humans, we are wired for connection, but we are not wired perfectly. We must understand that, so we can gently lead ourselves, and our loved ones, back toward love and back toward commitment. The more tenderness we can muster toward ourselves and our fellow creatures on earth, the more we will ultimately fulfill of our end of our enduring and ever-refreshing covenant with God.
What could be more foundational to Judaism than the sh'ma and v'ahavta? We affirm the unity that underpins the universe. Twice a day we remind ourselves to love God, to put these words on our hearts and teach them to our generations and affix them to our doorposts. We use these words to mark our transitions in space (a mezuzah reminds us to pause and notice the sacred when we come and go.) And we use these words to mark our transitions in time: evening and morning, lying down and rising up.
Every positive emotion stems from giving and flows outward from us to others, whereas every negative emotion revolves around taking for selfish motives. Indeed, the root of the Hebrew word for אהבה, love, is הב, to give. In other words, giving leads to love.