Love is a paradox. Many paradoxes, in fact.

It is the most altruistic and the most selfish of human emotions. The most giving and the most fulfilling. The most spiritual and the most physical. The most natural and the most irrational. The source of our deepest pleasures and our deepest agonies.

Filial love, romantic love, sexual love, friendship, compassion, love of self, love of G‑d — these are all so different from each other as to have virtually no common denominator between them. Yet we call them all "love", and somehow understand that they're all the same thing. But could never explain why.

We call it an "emotion", yet love is much more than a feeling. Everywhere we look — nature, human society, physics — the giver/recipient equation is the very math of existence. Yet the math doesn't add up. One plus one never equals two. In love, one plus one equals one. And also three.

The Kabbalists tell us that G‑d created the universe in order to experience love. Rabbi Akiva says that it is "a cardinal principle in Torah", and the great sage Hillel declared: "This is the entire Torah; all the rest is commentary."

Presented here are 32 articles and stories on love:

Insights:

Love Yourself
by Yanki Tauber

The Grammar of Love
by Yitzchak Ginsburgh

Man and Woman
by Tzvi Freeman

Mikvah Time
by Roni Loeb Richter

The Jealous Lover
by Yanki Tauber

Do We Love Too Much?
by Yanki Tauber

Trust
by Yanki Tauber

How To Criticize and Other Thoughts On Love
by Tzvi Freeman

The Rebbe's Love Laboratory
by Yaakov Lieder

Love According to the Rebbe
by Yanki Tauber

When I Joined the “High Society” Synagogue
by Dovid Zaklikowski


Stories:

Love in a Heartbeat
by Blair Grubb

The Calling
by Blair Grubb

Uncle Irv
by Jay Litvin

Mirrors
by Jay Litvin

Sitting in a Cafe
by Jay Litvin

The Gift
by Yrachmiel Tilles

Two Against One

The Meaning of Love

The Man Who Mistook His Wife's Foot for His Own


Essays, etc.:

The Kabbalah of Love
by Shifra Hendrie

Why Do We Fall In Love?
by Simon Jacobson

Alienation and Faith
by Jonathan Sacks

The Loving Friends
by Yaakov Brawer

Love at First Sight: Five Biblical Examples
by Yitzchak Ginsburgh

A History of Love
by Yanki Tauber

24,000 Plus One
by Yanki Tauber

Partner
by Yanki Tauber

Are You Happily Ever After?
by Moshe Wisnefski

Ramblings About Stress and Love
by Jay Litvin

The Cry of the Holy Sparks
by Zvi Yair

The Morality of Weakness: Defining Sexual Harassment
by Manis Friedman

Why Is Torah Law So Restrictive of Contact Between the Sexes?
by Manis Friedman

What If You Mess Up
by Manis Friedman


Readings:

Tanya Chapter 32

The Baal Shem Tov on Love

The Mystery of Marriage


See also: Charity: an Anthology