LOVE OF A FELLOW JEW

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well, and had a wonderful Pesach (it seems so far away already!)

Mazal Tov again to Batsheva whose birthday is today.

Mazal Tov to Miriam Brocha whose birthday is next week. Wishing you to keep going from strength to strength with much joy and success.

And on the same day next week is Nechama Esther Levy's birthday. We love you Nechama, and look forward to seeing you by Shlomo's barmitzvah soon. You should continue to give your parents much nachas.

I think it is the third week in a row that we have read the parshah Acharei Mos, and it is mainly about Yom Kippur Service carried out by Aharon, the Kohen Gadol.

Aharon is known for his tremendous Ahavas Yisrael (Love of one's fellow Jew) and this subject came up a few times this week in our daily reading of Mashiach Day by Day, which I would like to share.

There were a few points:

1. There are 3 loves - the love of G-d, the love of Torah, and the love of a fellow Jew

Of the 3, the love of one's fellow is the greatest, because if one has this, he will automatically love G-d and the Torah.

This is not the case with the other 2 loves (Sicha Parshas Ki Tavo 5705)

When a person harbours hatred and disunity below, it causes G-d to separate from him above, causing the person to sin.

THIS IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF OUR LONG EXILE!

On the other hand, by focusing on loving every Jew, and by doing acts of goodness and kindness, we bring blessings down from above.

ULTIMATELY THIS WILL BRING THE FINAL REDEMPTION.

2. In exile we are plagued by false beliefs about our fellow.

We believe that he is different from us, and we project negative intentions onto him (or her).

Harbouring these thoughts creates the very forces that we fear.

We must combat these false beliefs, and realise that in essence we are all one.

By uprooting senseless hatred and replacing it with love, we uproot the cause of exile, and automatically, the Redemption will follow.

3. Redemption is compared to a small child jumping and dancing in joy

He (or she) is free of self-consciousness.

There is no gap between who he is, how he feels, and what he does.

Mashiach is a state of total nullification, where the soul shines through our body from head to toe.

Sometimes our inner child is shy, and we need to coax him out with song and dance. (and with others)

When we do we taste Mashiach!

Gut Shabbos to all!