The Five General Levels of Love

The five general levels of love are referred to in Torah with five expressions: devekah (attachment), cheshikah (desire), chafitzah (longing), dibur (speech), and ahavah (love). These expressions are mostly found in Chazal and Chassidus, and are explained in various ways.

Source of the Concept

The source of the expressions of love is learned in the Midrash from verses regarding Hashem's love for Israel, and to differentiate - from Shechem's love for Dinah:

"Reish Lakish said: With three expressions of endearment did Hashem endear Israel: with devekah, with cheshikah, and with chafitzah. With devekah - 'And you who cleave [to Hashem]'; with cheshikah - 'Not because you were more numerous than all the peoples did Hashem desire you'; and with chafitzah - 'And all the nations shall call you fortunate.' And we learn this from the parsha of this wicked one: with devekah - 'And his soul cleaved [to Dinah]'; with cheshikah - 'My son Shechem, his soul desires your daughter'; with chafitzah - 'For he desired the daughter of Yaakov.' Rabbi Abba bar Elisha adds two more: with ahavah and dibur: with ahavah - 'I have loved you'; with dibur - 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem.' And we learn from the parsha of this wicked one: with ahavah - 'And he loved the young woman'; with dibur - 'And he spoke to the heart of the young woman.'"

Levels of Love in the Soul

The Zohar learns from the verse "Only with your forefathers did Hashem desire" that Hashem's love for the forefathers is because they devoted themselves to Him with complete bitul (self-nullification) "like a chariot." The Reishis Chochmah learns from this that due to Hashem's great love and endearment for them, He gave their children Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah, and through these important parts that we have from Him, He connects with us. The Tzemach Tzedek explains, based on the Shelah, that the five expressions in the Midrash (the three expressions that Reish Lakish brings: devekah, cheshikah, and chafitzah, and the two expressions that Rabbi Abba bar Elisha adds - ahavah and dibur) correspond to the four letters of the name Havayah in the soul and the kotz (tip) of the Yud, which are the five elevations of Malchus from its place to Keter (and are hinted at in the verse "Behold My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted, and lifted up, and be very high").

Nefesh: This is the level of "Malchus" in the soul, and is hinted at in the word "devekus" because this is how a person merits it. When he cleaves to Elokus and loves Hashem, his love "burns and consumes" physicality, and through this, the level of "Nefesh" shines within him. The Zohar compares this to the blue light in a candle that burns and consumes the wick, and through this, the candle illuminates with white light.

The meaning of the word "devekus" is the connection of two things that, although they are currently connected, it is possible to separate them (like "As the belt clings to the loins of a man").

Ruach: This is the level of "Tiferes" in the soul, and is hinted at in the word "cheshek." The reason for this is that the attribute of Tiferes includes the three lines hinted at in the vowelization of the name Havayah in Tiferes (the regular vowelization: sheva, cholam, kamatz): cholam - Tiferes, sheva - Gevurah, kamatz - Chesed.

The meaning of "cheshek" is that although it refers to two different things, the connection is with a constant embrace and tightening (like "The hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver").

Neshamah is the level of "Binah" in the soul, and is hinted at in three ways in the verse "And all nations will call you fortunate, for you shall be a land of desire":

"And they will call you fortunate" hints at "the world of freedom," the World to Come, the level of Binah. The word "to Me" is in Binah. Chefetz is the inner will (Chochmah and Keter), and if so, "land of desire" is the land that receives from Chochmah and Keter - the supernal land (that is, Binah).

The meaning of "chefetz" is a strong inner will, whose entire aim is one and is unable to think of anything else. As it is written regarding Shechem, "For he desired the daughter of Yaakov and did not delay the matter" - he had no other desire in the world except this desire alone, and it was as if he would die from his love for her.

Chayah corresponds to the love called "dibur" (speech), as Onkelos translated "to a living soul" - to a speaking spirit.

Yechidah is what is called "ahavah" ("love" plain, without addition, in the manner of "Any hyssop that has an accompanying name is invalid. Hyssop - this is kosher. Greek hyssop, blue hyssop, Roman hyssop, desert hyssop - invalid"), as explained in the Midrash on the verse "Its interior is lined with love."

The nature of this love is understood from Likkutei Torah that it is the aspect of the tip of the Yud (of Hashem's name) which points upward and hints that it is drawn upward to Ein Sof, blessed be He. That is, the four levels of love stem from the four letters of the name Havayah in the soul, while this love is from the tip of the Yud, which is high above the name Havayah and is the source of all aspects of love.

This love is revealed specifically in baalei teshuvah (and not in tzaddikim), because this aspect cannot be drawn down through regular service of "arise and do" but only through uprooting the will from its opposite. That his pain will grow greatly and he will come and reach the aspect of "with all your might" which is beyond what the soul can bear, depth within depth, beyond the realm of comprehension and beyond reason and knowledge, which is like the flame of a burning candle rising by itself, and because of it, even the lightest of the light gives his soul for the sanctification of Hashem's name.

For this love is from the aspect of the indwelling of the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, literally, which is clothed in Chochmah, and it is like a flame that rises by itself and of itself, and it is the "nature" of the soul that is imprinted in the nature of his divine soul not to be separated from His unity and oneness, blessed be He. And when he arouses this love within himself, it is fulfilled in him "and Hashem your God will turn the curse into a blessing for you," and intentional sins are transformed into merits.

Ahavas Olam, Rabbah, and B'Taanugim

In Chassidus, it is generally explained in a slightly different way (than in the previous section): the two expressions "ahavah" and "dibur" that hint at the levels of Chayah-Yechidah (in the essence of the soul, as in the previous section) are not mentioned at all, "devekus" is the love of the Neshamah clothed in the body, and cheshikah and chafitzah are the two levels (matters) of Chayah-Yechidah in the essence of the soul.

The Tzemach Tzedek explains that the three expressions devekah, cheshikah, and chafitzah correspond (respectively) to the three levels of love: ahavas olam (devekah), ahavah rabbah (cheshikah), and ahavah b'taanugim (chafitzah), and in Chassidus, the highest level of love - chefetz - is explained at length (as follows in the next section).

Chefetz

The Jewish people are called "eretz chefetz" (a land of desire) because in the depths of their souls there is ahavah b'taanugim.

How it is called: This love is called "teshukah" (passion) and "cheshek" (desire) and it is essential love (and sometimes called "the hidden love"), and it is the source of all levels of love, both those that depend on something and those that do not depend on something, because they all have a reason but this one does not. The difference between them is that teshukah is an essential concealment (that is not known even to itself) and cheshek is that it is known to itself but does not affect action.

Essential: And since it is "essential," there are no differences in levels, and therefore it is relevant only to the individual (and according to the revealed dimension of Torah, as Rashi wrote in Kiddushin 22a regarding "and you shall desire her" - her and not her friend), and the matter of service in this is to reveal it from concealment to actual revelation.

Chefetz and cheshek - generally it is the same level, and it is an inner attachment (drawn from the level of Chochmah in the soul, from the 32 paths of Chochmah) that is beyond love like flames of fire (drawn from contemplation, from the 50 gates of Binah) from within his innermost being and so deep, deep, deep that his soul can completely depart because of it when it does not achieve its desired object, as in the story of a man who set his eyes on a certain woman and his heart was filled with passion (Rashi: melted. From great love his heart was dulled and became ill) and they came and asked the doctors and they said there is no remedy for him until he has relations with her (Sanhedrin 75a).

Chefetz and cheshek - in specific detail, the love of "chefetz" is higher than cheshek and comes after it, and it is the inner dimension of love, and about this it is written "Let the righteous rejoice in Hashem," and not every person merits this, and this is the aspect of "the priest with the desire of the heart" in the Zohar (Shemini 39a, and in the discourse "And you shall make holy garments for Aaron" that it is from a higher level than "chesed to Abraham") and it is the service of "I will give your priesthood as a gift," for there is no way to attain it through knowledge of the flesh like fear. And it is ahavah rabbah b'taanugim that falls upon a person from above without him intending it, but only after he has toiled in yiras haromemus (awe of the exaltedness) (Tanya 43), and is drawn from the aspect of "the bird's nest" - Binah in which Atik is revealed.

The Four Shades in the Light of Fire

The four expressions in chapter 3 of Tanya (b'cheshikah, v'chafitzah, v'teshukah, v'nefesh shokekah) correspond to the four shades in the light of fire, for love is from the element of fire in the divine soul.