Sister love for G-d:[1]
Scripture describes the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people as a husband and wife and brother and sister, as written in the verse “Pischu Li Achosi Rayasi/Open for Me My sister My wife.” In this verse G-d is requesting from the Jewish people that they open their hearts towards Him in order so they become the level of sister and wife in tehri relationship with G-d. Now, while the Jewish people are always on this level of sister and wife to G-d, nonetheless, it is not always in a revealed and conscious state, and hence G-d is requesting for us to bring these feelings the forefront of our hearts. All we have to do is open our hearts, which is to remove the concealing cover that hovers over it, and it will then immediately become revealed. What remains to be understood however is the essence of this form of love of sisterhood, as well as the cover that conceals it and how it can be broken.
What is sister love? The term sister in Hebrew is Achosi which comes from the Talmudic term “Ichiuy Alexandris.” This term refers to a certain type of stitching that was local to Alexandria in which they would sew and attach two things together and turn them into one single item. Accordingly, we see that the term sister refers to a unity and connection between two different entities. This relates to the natural love that is found in the souls of every single Jew as a result of the root and source of his G-dly soul above which is absolutely united with the infinite light of G-d Himself. Even after the G-dly soul goes through a state of creation, going from the state of nothing to something so it can become invested within the animal soul and physical body, nonetheless, it retains this love. This love is readily experienced by the righteous due to the G-dly soul that is consciously felt within them and causes them to experience a passionate love and desire to become incorporated within the light of G-d and be nullified in existence to Him with expiry of the soul from the depth of the heart. Thus the righteous are in a constant state of nullification to G-d as this has become their second nature. This is similar to the love of a brother and sister, as the love between them is set and established within their very nature on its own due to birth without it needing to be aroused at all. This is true love that comes from the point of truth of the heart that does not have any interruption and stands forever.
Non-sister love: Non-sister love is a temporary love that becomes revealed on occasion and then dissipates and disappears as if it didn’t exist. This love is not set and established and planted within the heart of man unless he personally arouses it. In regards to love of G-d, this represents the love that is aroused on occasion during the prayer due to contemplation, and then after the prayer disappears as if it never existed to begin with. This type of love, being that it dissipates, is not considered an absolutely true love, as truth never stops. Nonetheless, it is not absolute falsehood, and thus it maintains some element of truth to it being that at the time that it is aroused, it is truly aroused from the central point of his heart, each to his level. Likewise, also after the prayer has concluded there remains a remnant of this love within his heart, for which reason as soon as he remembers G-d throughout the day a feeling of warmth and affection.
What blocks the heart from feeling the sister love: Earlier we stated that there is a covering that sits over the sister style love that is found in the heart of every Jew for which reason it is not experienced by people who aren’t on the level of the righteous. The matter the covers over this love is the animal soul. More specifically, this form of love is invested and concealed within the general power of lust for physical matters that is found in the animal soul. This lust itself that is found in animal soul is rooted in arrogance of the spirit, which is the serpent skin that surrounds and conceals the sister love the one has for G-d.
Every person has a different serpents skin: Now, the covering that conceals the natural sister love is not equal within every Jew, as this concealment contains many different levels of thickness. A person who is on a very low spiritual level has a very thick covering of serpent skin that conceals the natural love in his heart, while a person of a high spiritual level has a very thin covering of serpent skin covering over the natural love in his heart. This is expressed as follows: One person has a very strong and intense feeling of ego and pride while another person has a very low and shallow feeling of ego and pride. Whatever the case, everybody has to remove their serpent skin and ego and pride whatever its thickness may be, in order to experience love for G-d. The reason for this is because our sages state that G-d cannot reside with one who is haughty, and hence the love of G-d which derives from the G-dly revelation that is embedded in the G-dly soul within the heart cannot spring out, if it is covered with a skin of pride and ego.
How to open the covering and tear the serpents skin: Just as the only method to remove a wall is to cut a hole within it, hence breaking a piece of the wall until a passageway has been made, so too it is with regards to the covering of the serpent skin over the heart. An individual who desires for the love to be established within his heart needs to enter it into the inner dimensions of his heart into its very depths. He needs to bring himself to experience expiry of the soul and complete nullification of his existence to G-d. The breaking of the cover is accomplished through breaking one’s spirit in order to remove the pride and power of lust for physical pleasures that causes one to desire to be separate from G-d.
Made a crack in G-d will help you make a hole: Our sages teach us that all we have to do is make a hole, even if it is as small as the hole of a needle, and G-d will then open up for us a hole that is as large as the opening of the sanctuary of the temple. [This means that when we make the effort to try to break through our animal soul and its serpent skin, G-d will then help us in the process. All you have to do is pick up the sledgehammer and G-d will do the whacking.] The reason for this is because there is a general rule that if a person comes forward to become pure then G-d assists him to remove all of the aspects and levels of arrogance and pride, to elevate him to the highest of levels.
[1] Likkutei Torah p. 39b-41a
