If we keep an open mind, we’ll see that many people around us are greater than we thought
One of the most fundamental mitzvos in the Torah — and one of the most difficult — is loving our fellow Jews. It’s challenging to treat all Jews with kindness and respect, but what’s even more difficult is developing the inner love the Torah demands of us. Ahavas Yisrael means loving every Jew because he’s a Jew, a member of the holy nation that continues the legacy of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.
Every Jew has the spiritual genes of our forefathers, and a spark of the Jewish greatness they imparted to their progeny. We simply have to open our eyes to see it.
It’s not enough to believe that Klal Yisrael is a great nation, or to believe that every Jew has great potential. We have to try to actually see this greatness emerging in each and every Jew we meet. If we seek it, we’ll begin to notice Jewish greatness all around us.
Once we see the greatness of Klal Yisrael in the people around us, ahavas Yisrael will come to us naturally. Rather than merely admiring the qualities of others, we’ll love them for their Jewishness. That’s the true meaning of ahavas Yisrael: loving the Yisrael within each Jew.
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