דעֶר רֶבִּי — אַדְמוּ"ר הַזָּקֵן — האָט געֶזאָגט פוּן מעֶזרִיטשׁעֶר מַגִיד פוּן בַּעַל שֵׁם טוֹב'ס וועֶגעֶן: וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אִיז אַ פֵּירוּשׁ וּבֵיאוּר אוֹיף וְאָהַבְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ. אַז מ'האָט האָלט אַ אִידעֶן, האָט מעֶן האָלט דעֶם אוֹיבּעֶרשְׁטעֶן, וַוייל אַ אִיד האָט דאָךְ אִין זִיךְ אַ חֵלֶק אֱלֹקַהּ מִמַּעַל, אִיז אַז מְ'האָט האָלט דעֶם אִידעֶן, דעֶם אִינוועֶנִיג פוּן אִיהְם, מִמֵּילָא האָט מעֶן האָלט דעֶם אוֹיבּעֶרשְׁטעֶן.

The Alter Rebbe quoted the Maggid of Mezritch, who said in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: [The command to] “love your fellowman as yourself”1 is a commentary on [the command to]2 “love G‑d your L‑rd.” When one loves a Jew, he loves G‑d, for within a Jew there is “a part of G‑d.”3 Thus when one loves a Jew — meaning, when one loves that nucleus within him — one loves G‑d.4

Probing Beneath the Surface

In chapter 32 of Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains why the love of one’s fellowman is equivalent to the entire Torah. Making such a commitment is no easy task; indeed, loving one’s fellow as oneself may seem virtually impossible. To do so, one must transcend the native egoism that springs from our materialistically-oriented consciousness and focus on the Divine spark that is common to every Jew and Jewess. As stated there in Tanya, “as for the soul and spirit,who can know their greatness and excellence in their source and root — the living G‑d. Furthermore, they are actually all equal; they all have one Father. It is on account of this common root in the One G‑d that all of Israel are called ‘brothers’— in the full sense of the word; only the bodies are distinct from each other.”

Now, seeing beyond the material and revealing the spiritual — that is the entire Torah. Only when one has trained himself and proceeded in this lifelong task will it be possible for him to love his fellowman as himself.5

*

One night at “770,” a visitor from out of town was standing in line at kos shel berachah.6 When his turn came, the Rebbe poured him a little wine and then asked him: “Have you seen So-and-so from your hometown lately?”

The chassid reacted with a facial expression and a shrug of his shoulders as if to say, “What could have been gained by such a meeting?”

Responding to his body language with a gentle smile of surprise, the Rebbe said: “When two Jews meet, that itself is a happy occasion!”