Q&A: The Commandment of Loving God
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Commandment of Loving God
Question
Hello Rabbi. In your understanding, what is the meaning of the commandment to love God? What does it mean to love something unfamiliar and undefined? How is this commandment fulfilled?
Thank you
Answer
Maimonides, at the beginning of chapter 10 of the Laws of Repentance, defines love of God as doing the truth because it is truth. This is not about emotional love.
And in the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah he writes that the path to loving and fearing Him is to contemplate His creations, which implies that love of Him is based on what He does and not on what He is. For that, one need not know Him directly, but rather know His deeds.