The
Need
for
Love
of
Friends
Article
No.
14,
1988
There
are
many
merits
to
it:
1)
It
brings
one
out
of
self-love
and
to
love
of
others.
It
is
as
Rabbi
Akiva
said,
“Love
your
friend
as
yourself
is
the
great
rule
of
the
Torah,”
since
by
this
he
can
come
to
love
the
Creator.
However,
we
should
know
that
loving
others
or
working
for
the
sake
of
others
is
not
the
purpose
of
creation,
as
the
secular
understand
it.
The
world
was
not
created
for
one
to
do
good
to
another.
Rather,
the
world
was
created
for
each
one
to
receive
pleasure
for
himself.
Saying
that
we
must
work
for
the
sake
of
others
is
only
the
correction
of
creation,
not
the
purpose
of
creation.
The
correction
is
that
in
order
to
prevent
the
matter
of
shame,
there
was
a
correction
of
bestowal,
which
is
the
only
way
for
the
creatures
to
receive
the
complete
delight
and
pleasure
for
themselves
without
the
flaw
of
shame.
In
that
regard,
we
should
interpret
what
The
Zohar
says
about
the
verse,
“‘The
mercy
of
the
nations
is
a
sin;’
all
the
good
that
they
do,
they
do
for
themselves.”
We
can
interpret
“all
the
good,”
meaning
the
acts
of
mercy
that
they
do,
as
referring
to
their
intention,
which
is
called
“for
them,”
meaning
for
themselves.
This
means
that
it
is
according
to
their
own
understanding
and
not
as
we
were
told
to
observe,
according
to
“love
your
friend
as
yourself,”
as
a
commandment
of
the
Creator,
who
created
the
world
with
the
aim
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
The
Mitzvot
[commandments]
we
were
given
are
only
to
cleanse
people,
by
which
they
will
achieve
Dvekut
[adhesion]
with
the
Creator.
This
will
help
them
receive
delight
and
pleasure,
and
they
will
remain
in
Dvekut
with
the
Creator.
2)
When
the
friends
unite
into
a
single
unit,
they
receive
strength
to
appreciate
the
purpose
of
their
work—to
achieve
Lishma
[for
Her
sake].
Also,
the
rule
by
which
they
were
brought
up
is,
as
Maimonides
said,
“Women,
children,
and
uneducated
people
are
taught
to
work
out
of
fear
and
to
receive
reward.
Until
they
gain
knowledge
and
acquire
much
wisdom,
they
are
taught
that
secret
bit
by
bit.”
And
since
we
must
wait
“until
they
acquire
much
wisdom”
to
tell
them
that
they
need
to
work
in
Lishma,
and
a
great
number
among
the
masses
naturally
remains
in
Lo
Lishma
[not
for
Her
sake],
and
since
the
minority
naturally
annuls
before
the
majority,
when
the
friends
wish
to
walk
on
the
path
that
leads
to
Lishma,
to
avoid
annulment
before
the
collective,
the
friends
unite
and
each
one
is
dedicated
to
the
others.
Their
aim
is
to
achieve
love
of
the
Creator,
which
is
the
purpose,
through
the
love
of
others,
as
it
is
written,
“And
you
shall
love
the
Lord
your
God
with
all
your
heart
and
with
all
your
soul.”
It
follows
that
by
becoming
one
collective,
although
it
is
a
small
collective,
they
are
already
regarded
as
a
collective,
and
this
collective
is
not
enslaved
to
the
majority
of
the
collective.
Thus,
they
can
work
on
love
of
friends
with
the
aim
to
achieve
the
love
of
the
Creator.
Although
the
commandment
to
love
your
friend
as
yourself
applies
to
the
whole
of
Israel,
the
whole
of
Israel
are
not
walking
on
the
path
of
coming
from
love
of
others
to
love
of
the
Creator.
Also,
there
is
a
rule
that
when
people
unite
they
absorb
each
other’s
views,
and
the
matter
of
Lishma—the
essential
aim
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot—has
not
yet
been
fixed
in
a
man’s
heart,
meaning
that
the
main
intention
is
that
through
observing
Torah
and
Mitzvot
they
can
achieve
Lishma.
Hence,
by
bonding
with
others,
the
views
of
the
others
weaken
his
view
of
Lishma.
For
this
reason,
it
is
better
to
serve
and
to
bond
with
the
kind
of
people
who
understand
that
“love
your
friend
as
yourself”
is
only
a
means
to
achieve
the
love
of
the
Creator,
and
not
because
of
self-love,
but
his
whole
aim
will
be
to
benefit
the
Creator.
Hence,
one
should
be
careful
in
bonding
and
know
with
whom
one
bonds.
This
is
the
benefit
of
love
of
friends
in
a
special
group,
where
everyone
has
a
single
goal—to
achieve
love
of
the
Creator.
But
when
bonding
with
regular
people,
although
they
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
they
are
not
on
the
path
of
achieving
the
aim
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator,
since
they
were
brought
up
in
order
to
receive,
called
Lo
Lishma.
Hence,
if
they
unite
with
them,
they
will
adopt
their
views
and
will
say
that
it
is
not
worthwhile
to
walk
on
the
path
of
Lishma
because
Lishma
is
more
difficult
than
Lo
Lishma,
since
Lishma
is
against
nature.
For
this
reason,
one
should
be
careful
not
to
bond
with
people
who
have
not
acquired
much
wisdom
and
have
not
come
to
know
that
the
essence
of
the
work
of
the
Creator
is
for
the
sake
of
the
Creator
and
not
for
their
own
sake.
But
the
matter
of
“love
your
friend
as
yourself”
applies
to
the
whole
of
Israel.
Yet,
we
were
given
the
keeping
of
knowing
in
advance
with
whom
to
bond.
The
reason
is
that
before
a
person
is
rewarded
with
exiting
self-love,
he
always
feels
that
it
is
hard.
This
is
because
the
body
resists
it,
and
if
he
is
in
an
environment
of
a
group
of
people
who
are
united
under
one
view,
that
considers
the
goal
and
not
the
work,
then
his
goal
will
not
weaken
in
him.
But
if
he
is
not
always
together
with
his
friends,
it
is
very
difficult
for
one
to
hang
on
to
the
goal
of
bestowal.
He
needs
heaven’s
mercy
not
to
weaken
in
his
mind,
which
previously
realized
that
it
was
better
to
work
and
to
walk
on
the
path
of
the
work
of
bestowal.
Yet,
all
of
a
sudden
he
gets
thoughts
that
it
is
better
to
follow
the
crowd,
that
one
should
not
be
an
exception,
although
while
he
was
united
with
the
friends
he
thought
differently.
It
is
as
we
said
above:
While
he
is
not
bonded
with
the
collective
of
the
small
group,
he
immediately
surrenders
to
the
collective
of
the
masses
and
absorbs
their
views
that
it
is
enough
to
observe
Torah
and
Mitzvot
in
all
its
details
and
precisions,
and
to
aim
that
we
are
observing
the
King’s
commandment,
who
commanded
us
through
Moses
and
through
the
sages
following
him.
We
are
content
with
this,
since
we
will
receive
reward
for
this,
and
we
believe
in
our
sages
who
told
us,
“You
can
trust
your
landlord
to
pay
you
for
your
work,”
and
why
should
we
think
about
anything
more
than
that?
As
they
say,
“If
we
observe
this,
we
are
content.”
It
is
as
Rabbi
Hananiah
Ben
Akashiah
says,
“The
Creator
wished
to
cleanse
Israel,
therefore,
He
gave
them
plentiful
Torah
and
Mitzvot.”
This
means
that
all
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot
we
were
given
are
so
we
may
have
a
great
reward.
Thus,
now
the
person
has
become
smarter
than
while
he
was
united
in
the
society,
when
he
understood
that
one
simply
needs
to
work
for
the
Creator
and
not
for
his
own
benefit,
and
should
emerge
from
self-love
and
be
rewarded
with
Dvekut
with
the
Creator.
And
although
he
saw
that
it
was
difficult
to
emerge
from
self-love,
he
realized
that
this
was
a
true
path,
meaning
that
a
person
should
come
to
work
Lishma.
But
while
he
is
separated
from
that
society,
he
immediately
falls
into
the
majority
view,
which
is
the
majority
of
the
world.
In
other
words,
the
majority
of
Israel
has
not
yet
come
to
what
Maimonides
said,
“Until
they
gain
much
wisdom,
they
are
taught
that
secret,”
which
is
the
necessity
to
work
Lishma.
And
when
that
person
enters
the
society,
whose
way
is
that
it
is
necessary
to
achieve
Lishma,
the
question
arises,
“How
did
this
person
end
up
in
such
a
place?”
We
must
believe
that
it
came
from
above.
Accordingly,
we
should
understand
why,
afterwards,
he
drifts
away
from
the
society.
We
should
say,
as
Baal
HaSulam
said,
that
when
a
person
begins
to
walk
on
the
path
of
Lishma—and
certainly
this
aim
comes
to
a
person
who
is
given
an
awakening
to
the
path
of
truth—and
afterwards,
for
some
reason,
he
becomes
negligent
in
this
work
and
relapses
to
the
path
of
the
collective,
he
asked,
“Why
is
he
not
given
another
awakening
from
above?”
He
gave
an
allegory
about
this.
It
is
similar
to
a
person
who
is
swimming
in
the
river.
Halfway
across
the
river,
he
grows
weak,
and
a
person
swimming
next
to
him
gives
him
a
push
so
he
will
start
swimming
by
himself.
The
person
who
is
trying
to
save
him
gives
a
few
pushes,
but
if
he
sees
that
he
is
not
participating,
he
leaves
him
and
moves
away.
Only
when
he
sees
that
when
he
pushes
him,
he
begins
to
swim
by
himself
does
he
keep
pushing
him
each
time
until
he’s
out
of
danger.
But
if
he
is
not
participating,
he
leaves
him.
It
is
the
same
in
the
work.
A
person
receives
an
awakening
from
above
so
he
will
come
to
a
place
where
people
work
knowingly
in
order
to
come
to
bestow
contentment
upon
the
Creator.
And
a
person
is
given
several
awakenings,
but
if
he
does
not
make
an
effort
to
achieve
this,
he
finds
excuses
for
himself
and
must
escape
the
campaign.
Thus,
a
person
remains
righteous;
that
is,
by
leaving
this
society,
he
is
always
right.
And
by
justifying
himself,
he
truly
feels
that
he
is
righteous.
Therefore,
one
must
cling
to
the
society.
And
since
they
are
united,
they
are
regarded
as
a
collective,
too.
However,
theirs
is
a
big
collective,
while
his
society
is
a
small
collective.
And
a
collective
does
not
annul
before
a
collective.
3)
There
is
a
special
power
in
the
adhesion
of
friends.
Since
the
views
and
thoughts
pass
from
one
to
the
other
through
the
adhesion
between
them,
each
is
incorporated
with
the
powers
of
the
other,
and
by
that,
each
one
has
the
power
of
the
whole
society.
Therefore,
although
each
person
is
an
individual,
he
has
the
power
of
the
whole
society.