READING: FROM MIDNIGHT TO DAWN WEDNESDAY

The 15th of Av: The Day of Love

The 15th of Av – The Day of Love

• The 15th of Av: The Day of Love
• Four Qualities Attributes of Love
• The Book of Zohar – Concerning About Love

The 15th of Av: The Day of Love

1. Tifferet Shlomo about the Torah, Devarim

It is said in the Gemara (Taanit 4:8), “Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel said, ‘There were no better days for Israel than the fifteenth of Av and the Day of Atonement.’ When the fifteenth day comes, great mercies awaken upon us and the days of good will begin. This is why there weren’t such good days before. Also, He will turn everything for the best, for salvation and comfort.

2. Likutey Halachot [Assorted Rules], Hilchot Gitin [Rules of Divorce], Rule No. 3

The fifteenth of Av is regarded as the correction and the sweetening of the ninth of Av, as our sages said, that on the ninth of Av there was the decree of the dead of the desert, for then they would die each year in the desert, and on the fifteenth of Av, the dead of the desert would stop. It follows that the fifteenth of Av is regarded as the correction and the sweetening of the ninth of Av.

3. Tifferet Shlomo about the Torah, Devarim

On the fifteenth of Av, when the days of good will begin to shine, to prepare for the will of the Creator that is coming in our favor, each person’s will must also be incorporated in one’s friend, to stand and anticipate his favor. This is the intimation in the Gemara: the day when the tribes were permitted to mingle with each other, meaning that each one from the children of Israel will impart from his blessing and favor upon his friend, as well.

4. Baal HaSulam, Letter No. 2

Regarding the most important matter, called “love,” which is the spiritual connection between Israel and their Father in heaven, as it is written, “And You shall bring us, our King, to Your great name, Selah, in truth and in love,” and as it is written, “Who chooses His people, Israel, with love,” this is the beginning of the salvation and the end of correction when the Creator reveals to His creations—which He has created—all the love that was previously hidden in His heart.

5. RABASH, Article No. 410, “Self-Love and Love of the Creator”

There is self-love and there is love of the Creator, and there is a medium, which is love of others. Through love of others we come to the love of the Creator. This is the meaning of what Rabbi Akiva said, “Love your neighbor as yourself is a great rule in the Torah.”

As Old Hillel said to the gentile who told him, “Teach me the whole Torah on one leg.” He said to him, “That which you hate, do not do to your friend. And the rest, go study.” This is so because through love of others we come to love the Creator, and then the whole Torah and all the wisdom are in his heart.

6. Baal HaSulam, “The Love of God and the Love of Man”

This is what Hillel Hanasi assumed, that “Love your friend as yourself” is the ultimate goal in the practice, as it is the clearest nature and form to man.

We should not be mistaken about actions, since they are set before his eyes. He knows that if he puts the needs of his friend before his own needs, then he is in the quality of bestowal. For this reason, he does not define the goal as “And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,” for indeed they are one and the same, since he should also love his friend with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, as this is the meaning of the words “as yourself.” He certainly loves himself with all his heart and soul and might, and with the Creator, he may deceive oneself, but with his friend it is always spread out before his eyes.

7. RABASH, Article No. 30 (1988), “What to Look For in the Assembly of Friends”

Love of friends that is built on the basis of love of others, by which they can achieve the love of the Creator, is the opposite of what is normally considered love of friends. In other words, love of others does not mean that the friends will love me. Rather, it is I who must love the friends.

8. RABASH, Letter No. 40

There is a prayer for it—that the Creator will help him by making him feel the love of his friend and make his friend close to his heart.

9. RABASH, Article No. 2 (1984), “Concerning Love of Friends”

We must remember that the society was established on the basis of love of others, so each member would receive from the group the love of others and hatred of himself. And seeing that his friend is straining to annul his self and to love others would cause everyone to be integrated in their friends’ intentions.

Thus, if the society is made of ten members, for example, each will have ten forces practicing self-annulment, hatred of self, and love of others.

10. RABASH, Letter No. 40

Through the wearing out of the hearts, even of the strongest ones, each will bring out warmth from the walls of his heart, and the warmth will ignite the sparks of love until a clothing of love will form. Then, both of them will be covered under one blanket, meaning a single love will surround and envelop the two of them, as it is known that Dvekut [adhesion] unites two into one.

And when one begins to feel the love of his friend, joy and pleasure immediately begin to awaken in him, for the rule is that a novelty entertains. His friend’s love for him is a new thing for him because he always knew that he was the only one who cared for his own well being. But the minute he discovers that his friend cares for him, it evokes within him immeasurable joy, and he can no longer care for himself.

11. RABASH, Letter No. 40

Each gift that he gives to his friend […] is like a bullet that makes a hollow in the stone. And although the first bullet only scratches the stone, when the second bullet hits the same place, it already makes a notch, and the third one makes a hole.

And through the bullets that he shoots repeatedly, the hole becomes a hollow in his friend’s heart of stone, where all the presents gather. And each gift becomes a spark of love until all the sparks of love accumulate in the hollow of the stony heart and become a flame.

The difference between a spark and a flame is that where there is love, there is open disclosure, meaning a disclosure to all the peoples that the fire of love is burning in him. And the fire of love burns all the transgressions one meets along the way.

12. Baal HaSulam, Letter No. 2

I shall advise you to evoke within you fear of the coolness of the love between us. Although the intellect denies such a depiction, think for yourself—if there is a tactic by which to increase love and one does not increase it, that, too, is considered a flaw.

It is like a person who gives a great gift to his friend. The love that appears in his heart during the act is not like the love that remains in the heart after the fact. Rather, it gradually wanes each day until the blessing of the love can be entirely forgotten. Thus, the receiver of the gift must find a tactic every day to make it new in his eyes each day.

This is all our work—to display love between us, each and every day, just as upon receiving, meaning to increase and multiply the intellect with many additions to the core, until the additional blessings of now will be touching our senses like the essential gift at first. This requires great tactics, set up for the time of need.

13. RABASH, Letter No. 8

Once I have acquired the clothing of love, sparks of love promptly begin to shine within me. The heart begins to long to unite with my friends, and it seems to me that my eyes see my friends, my ears hear their voices, my mouth speaks to them, the hands embrace, the feet dance in a circle, in love and joy together with them, and I transcend my corporeal boundaries. I forget the vast distance between my friends and me, and the outstretched land for many miles will not stand between us.

It is as though my friends are standing right within my heart and see all that is happening there, and I become ashamed of my petty acts against my friends. Then, I simply exit the corporeal vessels and it seems to me that there is no reality in the world except my friends and I. After that, even the “I” is cancelled and is immersed, mingled in my friends, until I stand and declare that there is no reality in the world—only the friends.

14. Maor VaShemesh, Devarim

It is known that the most important is the true connection among the friends. This causes all the salvations and the sweetening of the judgments. When you gather together in love, brotherhood, and friendship. By this, all the judgments are removed and sweetened with mercy, and through the connection, complete mercy and revealed kindness are revealed in the world.

15. Rabbi Israel Meir HaCohen, HaChafetz Chaim, Zachor LeMiriam, 11

When is the Creator fond of creation? When Israel are united together and there is no envy, hatred, or competition among them whatsoever, when each one thinks only of his friend’s benefit. At that time, the Creator is happy with His creation, and it was said about this, “The Lord will delight in His deeds.” By intimation, we can thereby explain the verse, “Love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” That is, if you love your neighbor as yourself, I the Lord will be within you, and I will love you both.

Four Attributes of Love

16. Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot”, Items 69-74

When we observe the attributes of love between man and man, we find four measures of love, one atop the other, meaning two that are four.

The first is “conditional love.” It means that because of the great goodness, pleasure, and benefit that one receives from one’s friend, his soul clings to him with wondrous love.

There are two measures in this: The first measure is that before they met and began to love one another, they did harm to one another. However, now they do not want to remember it, for “Love will cover all crimes.” The second measure is that they have always done good and helped one another, and there is no trace of harm or detriment between them.

[Editor’s note: Item 71 is missing in the manuscript]

The second is “unconditional love.” It means that one knows the virtue of one’s friend to be sublime, beyond any imaginable measure. Because of this, his soul clings to him with immeasurable love.

Here, too, there are two measures: The first measure is before one knows every conduct and deed of one’s friend with others. At that time, this love is considered “less than absolute love.” This is because one’s friend has dealings with others, and on the surface, he seems to be harming others out of negligence. In this manner, if the lover saw them, the merit of his friend would be entirely blemished and the love between them would be corrupted. Yet, since he has not seen these dealings, his love is still whole, great, and truly wonderful.

The second attribute of unconditional love is the fourth attribute of love in general, which also comes from knowing the merit of his friend. Yet, in addition, now he knows all his dealings and conducts with every person, none missing. He has checked and found that not only is there no trace of a flaw in them, but his goodness is greater than anything imaginable. Now it is “eternal and complete love.”

Note that these four attributes of love between man and man also apply between man and the Creator.

The Book of Zohar – About Love

17. Zohar for All, BeShalach [When Pharaoh Sent], “The Lord Is My Strength and Song”, Item 245

Man should love the Creator because there is no other work before the Creator but love. Anyone who loves Him and works with love, the Creator calls him, “Lover.”

18. Zohar for All, Nasso, “Why Have I Come and There Is No Man,” Item 105

It is written, “Why have I come and there is no man.” How beloved are Israel by the Creator, for wherever they are, the Creator is among them since He does not remove His love from them, as it is written, “And let them make Me a Temple and I will dwell among them.”

19. Zohar for All, Ki Tissa [When You Take], “Now Let Me Alone”, Item 54

All those friends who do not love each other depart the world before their time. All the friends in Rashbi’s time had love of soul and love of spirit among them. This is why in his generation, the secrets of Torah were revealed. Rabbi Shimon would say, “All the friends who do not love each other cause themselves to stray from the right path.” Moreover, they put a blemish in the Torah, since there is love, brotherhood, and truth in the Torah. Abraham loved Isaac; Isaac loved Abraham; and they were embraced. And they were both gripped Jacob with love and brotherhood and were giving their spirits in one another. The friends should be like them and not blemish them, for if love is lacking in them they will blemish their value above, that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which are HGT.

20. Zohar for All, Kedoshim, “you may surely reprove your neighbor,” Item 100

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may surely admonish your neighbor, and shall not incur sin because of him.” This commandment is to admonish him for sinning and to show him great love, that he loves him, so the admonisher will not be punished. It is written about the Creator, “He whom the Lord loves, He admonishes.” As the Creator does, admonishing those whom He loves, man, too, will learn from His way and admonish his neighbor, whom he loves. The Creator admonishes a person with love, in hiding. If one accepts His admonishment, very well; if not, He admonishes him among those who love him. If he accepts it, very well; if not, He admonishes him openly, before everyone’s eyes. If he accepts it, very well; if not, He leaves him and no longer admonishes him, since He leaves him to go and do as he pleases.

21. Zohar for All, “Introduction of the Book of Zohar”, “The Second Commandment”, Item 201

Complete love is love on both sides, whether in Din, or in Hesed and successful ways. He will love the Creator even if He takes His soul away from Him. This love is complete, for it is on both sides, in Hesed and in Din. Hence, the light of the act of creation came out, and was then concealed. When it became concealed, the harsh Din came out and the two sides, Hesed and Din, were included together, becoming whole. […]

This gave room for the inclusion of the two ends as one. This is so because now it became possible to disclose the wholeness of His love even while He takes one’s soul away from him. Thus, room was given to complement the love in a way that had it not been hidden and the harsh Din had not been revealed, this great love would have been devoid of the righteous, and it never would have been possible for it to become disclosed.

22. Zohar for All, VaEtchanan, “And you will love the Lord your God,” Items 145-146

The righteous in that world have several sections over sections. The highest of all the sections is for those whose love of their Master is tied in them, since their section has become tied to the hall that rises above all since the Creator is crowned in it with love.

That hall, the highest one, is called “love,” and everything stands on love, as it is written, “Much water will not be able to quench the love.” Everything stands in love.