It is written: "How fair and how pleasant are you, oh love beta'anugim."

There are two kinds of love. One is ahavah beta'anugim (love with delights), meaning that one is in a state of wondrous delight over G‑d, with a great and immense joy [the joy of the soul and its yearning as it discerns that the Lord is good and delightful as wondrously sweet delights]. It is truly in the mode of the world to come where "they take delight ..." And of this it is written: "Rejoice, tzadikim, in the Lord," and not everyone merits this. This is the rank the sacred Zohar refers to as kahana bire'uta deliba, and of which it is said: "A service of gift ... and the stranger that comes nigh ..." For there is no way to attain it by human efforts as (there is with) the awe (of G‑d), of which it is asked "Did you labour with awe?", and "Woe unto the person that did not labour with awe," as mentioned in Reishit Chochmah. Of awe is also written— "If you will seek it as silver ..."; this shows that it requires a great and immense exertion, as when one searches for fortunes. But this great love [ the ahavah betdanugim] comes to man by itself, from above, without him preparing and attuning himself for it; rather, only after he has exerted himself in yirat haromemut, and has attained the maximum he is able to attain of that according to the level of his soul, then, of itself, the ahavah beta'anugim comes from above to dwell, and to become united with the yirah. For "It is the way of man to go ...", as explained in Likutei Amarim.

The second (type) is a love and desire that the soul desires, loves and wishes to cleave unto the Lord, "To be bound up in the bundle of life." The proximity to G‑d is very dear to her, and that is wha't she desires. It is most grievous unto her to become, Heaven torfend, removed from Him, blessed be He, by having an iron partition of the chitzonim separating, Heaven forfend. This love is latent in the heart of all Israel, even in the wicked ones, and from it derives their remorse.

Though, because it is latent and concealed, in a state of exile in the body, it is possible for the kelipah to dominate over it; and that is the "spirit of folly" which causes man to sin. Therefore man's service to his Maker needs to be in strengthening himself and to prevail over the kelipah by all means. That is, first to expel it completely from the body— from the (faculties of) thought, speech and action that are in the brain, tongue, and the 248 organs. After that he will also be able to "Bring out the captive from prison" with a strong hand. That is, "His heart is strong and steadfast among the valiant," so that the love will become revealed in a state of great manifestation in all the powers of the parts of the soul in his body, i.e. mainly in the mind and in the (faculty of) thought of the brain, so that corresponding to its intellect and understanding the mind will constantly think and contemplate on the blessed Creator how He is the Fountainhead of life in general, and of the life of his soul in particular. Consequently, he will yearn and desire to become attached to Him, and near to Him, by an intrinsic yearning as that of a child that yearns to be constantly near his father, and as fire which by its very nature always rises upwards to its source. And the more he continues to set his mind on this yearning, this yearning becomes correspondingly stronger, and will extend even unto his mouth and all his organs— to occupy himself with Torah and the commandments in order to cleave, through these, verily unto the Lord, for "The Torah and the Holy One, blessed is He, are entirely one."

Of this yearning, as it is in a state of great manifestation, it is written: "My soul thirsts...", like a person who thirsts for water, and, as yet, has no delight whatever. Also, of this yearning and of this love concealed in us we pray to G‑d to aid us in bringing it out from imprisonment, and that the heart be full of it alone; and that its "rival-wife," i.e. the mundane desires, do not enter its house. Rather, (this yearning and love) be the mistress of the house, to rule over her "rival-wife" and to expel her at least from one's thought, speech and action. Though one cannot expel her altogether from one's heart, she should at least be hidden, in a state of exile and servitude to the mistress of the house, her mistress to make use of her for her own essentials only, as eating and drinking, as it is written: "In all your ways, know Him." ?