Daily Tanya Monday 30th Nissan Chapter 43 Part 2: The two loves

30^th Nissan

1. The two levels of love:

• Just as there exist two levels of fear of G-d, as explained above, so too love of G-d also contains two levels: Ahava Raba/Great love, and Ahavas Olam/world love.

2. The love of Ahavah Raba:

• A love of ecstasy: The love defined as Ahava Raba is a love of delightfulness and ecstasy. [It is not a yearning and desire to attach to G-d, but rather the act of bonding/Dveikus itself that is the result of desiring Him.]
• For whom-A fiery love as a gift from above for one who has perfected his awe G-d: This love is a fiery flame that comes spontaneously without the result of one’s own effort. It comes as a gift from above for the individual who has perfected his fear of G-d.
• Perfection of awe draws this form of love: This plays on the statement of the Sages “It is the way of the man to pursue the woman.” Metaphorically, love of G-d is referred to a man or male, as the verse states “Zachar Chasdo,” while fear is referred to a female, as the verse states “Veisha Yiras Hashem. [Hence, the Sages are hinting to the fact that the male/love is revealed from above to one who has perfected his fear/female aspect.]
• Without awe this love cannot be attained: Without preceding the fear, it is not possible to reach this love of Ahava Raba.
• The reason is because this love comes from Atzilus: As this love comes from the world of Atzilus in which there is no separateness from G-d, Heaven forbid. [Accordingly, for one to merit this love, he must spiritually reach the state of Atzilus in his service of G-d and be completely nullified to Him.]

3. The love of Ahavas Olam:

• The love of Ahavas Olam comes from understanding and contemplation in G-d’s greatness, that He fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds, and that all is like naught before Him like the nullification of one word of speech in the intellectual soul while it is still within one’s thought or desire of the heart.
• Transforming love of the self and physical pleasures for love of G-d: The above contemplation helps remove one’s lusts and love for worldly matters and transforms it to a lust and passion for G-d. This means that he will not invest his love in any pleasure and enjoyment of the physical or spiritual and rather will only dedicate his love to love G-d. He will not desire at all any matter related to the world except for G-d alone who is the source of life of all the pleasures. All the pleasures of the world are nullified in their existence before G-d and are as if they do not exist at all without there being any comparison between them, just as there’s no comparison between absolute nothingness and eternal life. This is expressed in the verse which states, “Who was with me in the heavens and with You I do not desire on earth, my heart yearns for You.”
• One who has no worldly loves or passions: Even one who has no lusts and passions invested at all in any physical or spiritual matter can arouse a love and fiery passion for G-d that reaches all the way to the heavens through the above contemplation.