אַהֲבָה אִיז דעֶר רוּחַ הַחַיִּים אִין עֲבוֹדַת הַחֲסִידוּת, דעֶר חוּט הַמְקַשֵּׁר חֲסִידִים אֵיינעֶם מִיט דעֶם אַנְדעֶרעֶן, אוּן דעֶר חוּט הַמְקַשֵּׁר רֶבִּי מִיט חֲסִידִים אוּן חֲסִידִים מִיט רֶבִּי'ן. עֶס אִיז הֵן בְּדֶרֶךְ אוֹר יָשָׁר הֵן בְּדֶרֶךְ אוֹר חוֹזֵר, האָט קֵיינעֶ מְחִיצוֹת נִיט, אוּן עֶס אִיז העֶכעֶר פוּן דעֶר הַגְבָּלָה פוּן מָקוֹם וּזְמַן.

Love is the spirit of life in the service of Chassidus. It is the lifeline that binds chassidim to each other, that binds the Rebbe to the chassidim and the chassidim to the Rebbe. It functions both as a direct light (or yashar) and a rebounding light (or chozer). It knows no barriers and transcends the bounds of space and time.1

Probing Beneath the Surface

Every society in the world praises the value of love. Love takes us beyond self-centered passivity and motivates us outward beyond ourselves. Nevertheless, too often, the secular ideal of love also puts an emphasis on being loved, or at least, on receiving reciprocation for the love one gives.

In the Holy Tongue,the word for love — ahavah (אהבה) — includes the Aramaic word hav (הב), which means “Give!” (And the initial letter alef makes it mean, “I will give.”) Loving, which springs from the attribute of Chessed, is not so much receiving, as giving — giving of oneself, and making unsung sacrifices for others.