The Heart of Torah

Imagine you were put on the spot with the following request: “Can you please teach me the entire Torah on one foot?”

Torah is vast. Torah is deep. There are thousands and thousands of volumes of books expounding on the Torah. Try capturing it in a one-liner!

The Talmud relates that Hillel the Elder was asked exactly that, and here was his response: “The mitzvah of Ahavat Yisrael [‘loving your fellow Jew’] is the entire Torah, and the rest is commentary.”

What is Torah on one foot? Torah is about prioritizing soul over body and learning how to see beyond the external trappings of the world. If you can absorb Torah’s message and relate to your soul as a real entity, then you can relate to the soul of another Jew and have true Ahavat Yisrael.

On a body (physical) level, we are separate people with many differences and opinions. There is competition, jealousy, getting under the skin. But on a soul (spiritual) level, we are literally brothers and sisters, as all our souls come from one loving father, G‑d Himself.

Not by coincidence, this chapter in Tanya is Chapter 32, the numerical equivalent to the Hebrew word lev, meaning “heart.” The heart of Tanya and the heart of Torah areShow them compassion! one and the same: to love all Jews unconditionally by seeing beyond what separates us and tuning in to what unites us.

What about Jews you hesitate to love due to a perceived lack of observance? Draw them in with thick cords of love! And what about Jews you feel really deserve contempt? Show them compassion! Learn to love them for the pure souls they have.

For we are all one people.

Tanya Bit: If I am a body and you are a body, then your existence interferes with mine. But if I am a soul and you are a soul, then we are only one existence.

(Inspired from Chapter 32 of Tanya)