Moods and Jewish Music - Love

Love is about giving. In Hebrew, the word for love is " ahava," which includes the shorter word " hav," which means give. Society sometimes puts an emphasis on the taking, while in reality, the best way to receive is to give.

That is not a quantitative thing, but a qualitative one. If I simply take, the only things I can take are material ones, such as objects, ego boosts, or physical gratification. But when I give, I receive a sense of spiritual purpose - I make a difference in the world! One of my greatest joys came when I was teaching and a student shared with me how something I  had taught had changed her life.

This is what love is about. Making a difference in someone's life. That will make a difference in your life. The true path to love is to give. Everything else is a wrong turn.

" Zocharti lach chessed ne'urayich, ahavat k'lulotayich. Lechtech acharai bamidbar, b'eretz lo z'ruah = I recall the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, how you followed Me in the desert, the unsown wilderness."

True love is when two souls unite to travel through the wilderness of life creating together, dreaming together. When the two can achieve what each was incapable of and uninspired to attempt on his/her own, then they have the blessing of true love.

Recomended listening: " West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim, " L'maan achai v'reai," by Shlomo Carlebach, " Romeo and Juliet Overture," by Tchaikovsky.

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