Ahavas Yisroel

Ahavas Yisroel is a positive commandment to love every Jew. Its source in the Torah is the verse "V'ahavta l'reyacha kamocha" (And you shall love your fellow as yourself). In the Torah, Ahavas Yisroel appears as a general and fundamental concept, as brought in the Gemara in the name of Hillel Hazaken: "D'alach sani al taavid l'chavrecha, zo kol haTorah kulah v'idach peirusha" meaning: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the entire Torah." And Rabbi Akiva said, "V'ahavta l'reyacha kamocha, zeh klal gadol baTorah" (Love your fellow as yourself, this is a great principle in the Torah).

In Chassidic teachings, the concept of Ahavas Yisroel is one of the central foundations in divine service.

Ahavas Chinam (Unconditional Love)Edit

The mitzvah of Ahavas Chinam is the commandment to love every Jew, whoever they may be. Even a Jew found at the ends of the earth whom one has never seen. True Ahavas Yisroel is when one loves a complete rasha (wicked person) just as one loves a complete tzaddik (righteous person). Just as the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of sinas chinam (baseless hatred), so will the Third Beis Hamikdash be built through Ahavas Chinam for every Jew.

In Chassidic TeachingsEdit

The general concept in Chassidic teachings is to love another Jew not (only) because of their particular qualities such as intellect and good character, but because they are a Jew, and this love stems from the neshamah (soul). This love must be essential love, "kamocha" (as yourself) - just as one loves oneself with a love that transcends the limitations of reason and understanding, so must one love others with a love that transcends reason and understanding.

Moreover: Another person should matter to him more than himself, and therefore he should love another Jew even more than he loves himself. The suffering of his fellow should pain him even more than his own suffering, because regarding himself, he can find all kinds of reasons for which his suffering came upon him. This is the true interpretation of "V'ahavta l'reyacha kamocha" - that you should love yourself as you love your fellow.

The action of the mitzvah in which we are commanded is to contemplate things that awaken love for every Jew, and through appropriate contemplation, a person will certainly reach a genuine feeling of Ahavas Yisroel in the heart. However, this contemplation is only a means to reach a love that transcends intellect, since this love in its essence does not depend on intellect but is a natural love like the love of a person for his brother or a father for his son.

The Reasons for the Essential Nature of Ahavas YisroelEdit

• Ahavas Yisroel is Ahavas Hashem:Edit

Since every Jew is a child of Hashem, as mentioned in the verse "Banim atem l'Hashem Elokeichem" (You are children to Hashem your G-d), every Jew is beloved to Hashem. Therefore, when one loves the beloved, it is as if one loves the one who loves. Also, because every Jew has a divine soul which is "a part of G-d above, mamash (truly)," and "when you grasp a part of the essence, you grasp it all," since Ahavas Yisroel contains Ahavas Hashem, it is an essential love because every Jew has an essential love for Hashem, and because of this, he has an essential love for every Jew.

• All of Am Yisroel is Included in the Soul of Adam Harishon:Edit

All of Am Yisroel were originally included in one general soul, which is the soul of Adam Harishon, and therefore every Jew is a part of this whole and is also included in his fellow. Moreover, since all are rooted in one essence, and essence - even when divided into particulars - in each particular there is the entire essence, since "when you grasp a part of the essence, you grasp it all." Therefore, every other Jew is like himself, and in loving another Jew, he is not loving another but loving himself.

Its Essence in a Person's Divine ServiceEdit

Extended article - Likutei Amarim - Chapter 32

"The Alter Rebbe writes in his Siddur: 'It is proper to say before prayer: Hareini mekabel alai mitzvas aseh shel v'ahavta l'reyacha kamocha' (I hereby take upon myself the positive commandment of loving your fellow as yourself). That means that the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel is the entrance gate through which a person can come to stand before Hashem to pray, and through it the prayer of the one who prays will be accepted." - Hayom Yom, 2 Tammuz

In Chassidic teachings, it is explained that in order for a person to reach the point where he loves another Jew, he must reveal and feel his divine soul, because from the perspective of his animal soul, it is not possible to love another person, since a person naturally loves himself. As the Tanya states, "Only the bodies are separate," and only through the revelation of his divine soul is he capable of loving another Jew. This happens when he reaches a state of bitul (self-nullification), as the Alter Rebbe explains at length in Tanya, where it is then revealed how "all are matching," meaning that all Jews are equal from the perspective of their divine souls, and moreover, "one Father for all of them" - they all have one root in Knesses Yisroel (the congregation of Israel), and through this, one can love another Jew because they are truly united.

Love for a Sinning JewEdit

Regarding a Jew who has sinned, about whom it says in the Gemara that "one who sees his fellow sin is commanded to hate him and also to tell his teacher to hate him," it is explained that this applies only to someone who is in the category of "your fellow" and should be your fellow in observing Torah and mitzvos, meaning, equal to you in that he observes Torah and mitzvos. And even then, only after you have rebuked him for what he did, as commanded in the mitzvah "Hocheiach tochiach es amisecha" (You shall surely rebuke your fellow). And even then, one is obligated to love the good part of him and only hate the bad part. But someone who is not your fellow, you are obligated to love him, and perhaps through this, you will be able to bring him closer to Torah.

Ahavas Yisroel TodayEdit

In 5751 (1991) on Shabbos Parshas Mattos-Massei, the Rebbe spoke about Ahavas Yisroel and introduced a tremendous innovation. Ahavas Yisroel today - said the Rebbe - is not for the sake of correcting the cause of the galus (exile) - sinas chinam (baseless hatred) - as it was until now, that we increase in ahavas chinam (unconditional love) to bring the Geulah (Redemption), because the cause of the galus has already been corrected (!). Ahavas Yisroel today is because of the spark of Moshiach that exists in every Jew, and it serves as a taste of the true and complete Redemption, when all Jews will be united through the spark of Moshiach that is in each and every one.

It should be noted that this historic announcement is connected to other milestones in our progress toward Redemption, which the Rebbe pointed out in recent years. For example: the completion of the work of spreading the wellsprings, the end of the war of the soldiers of the House of David, the completion of polishing the buttons, the completion of the teshuvah work needed for the coming of the Redemption, and the completion of the work of refining the sparks.

External LinksEdit

Tzemach Tzedek, The Mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel, from the book Derech Mitzvosecha, text format, Chabad Library website
The Rebbe tells about the Alter Rebbe's Ahavas Yisroel - video collection
Sefer HaArachim Chabad, entry on Ahavas Yisroel - HebrewBooks
Kovetz Ahavas Yisroel, in the series 'L'avdecha B'emes' published by Yafutzu, Lag B'Omer 5777
Ahavas Yisroel through the lens of Chassidus, a study unit on Ahavas Yisroel published by 'Mayanosecha'
The Baal Shem Tov's approach to Ahavas Yisroel, on the website of Chabad Torah for Yeshiva Students
Ahavas Yisroel among Temimim, a video production shown on 'Yom Tamim L'Rebbe' 11 Nissan 5783