Loving Your Fellow - R. Yaakov Rahimi - TorahAnytime.com

Cuz if a person really loves Hashem, then it's impossible not to love Yidden. And the muscle they give from the safer Hakama, when the possuk says, "V'ahavta l'reacha kamocha, ani Hashem." Hashem tells us, "Love your friend the way you love yourself." And then Hashem ends off the possuk like a signature. "Ani Hashem, I am God." So asks the safer Hakama, why did Hashem have to end off the possuk with the words, "Ani Hashem, I am God?" Just say, "V'ahavta l'reacha kamocha." Love your friend the way you love yourself. Respect him, go out of your way for your friend. Don't make fun of each other. What does Hashem have to end off the possuk? By the way, "Ani Hashem, I am God." Isn't that obvious? Hashem, we know we know you're talking. You wrote the Torah. You wrote the possuk. Says the safer Hakama, a powerful, powerful lesson. He says, "V'ahavta l'reacha means you must love other Yidden." You know why? Cuz Hashem says, "Ani Hashem, I am your God." Meaning, if I am your father, then the person that you don't like, he's my son. Cuz all of the Yidden, all the Jews are Hashem's children. So if one brother tells another brother, "I hate you. I don't like you." Then Hashem can tell that person, "If he's not your brother, then I'm not your father, because I'm also his father." Listen to these words. If you have two brothers fighting with one father, if one brother tells the other brother, "I love my father so much. I really appreciate him. I respect him. I want to do as much as I could to give him nachas. But you as a brother, I can't stand you. Get out of my face." Says Hashem, "Wait a minute. If he's not your brother, then I'm not your father. You know why? Because I'm his father." If I'm his father, then you're also his brother. We're all related. So says the safer Hakama, the possuk says, "V'ahavta kamocha." You know why? Cuz Ani Hashem, because Hashem loves that person that he's commanding you to love. And if you love Hashem, if you say that you love Hashem, you want to serve Hashem, part of the tenaim is you must love who Hashem loves, and that's everybody in Klal Yisrael. That's the possuk finishes off, "Ani Hashem."