In the previous chapter, the Alter Rebbe explained two general levels of love for Hashem“Love that arises from the world” and “Deep Love.” In turn, each of these levels is different in each person: depending on how much we understand Hashem, How much we think about Him, etc., will affect how we feel those levels of love.
But in this chapter the Alter Rebbe explains that there are levels of love for Hashem which are the same in all people, because, in reality, they are an inheritance from our patriarchs. That is, these types of love to Hashem They are within every Jew, simply by virtue of being Jewish.
The first type of love to Hashem What the Alter Rebbe explains we could call “vital love.” It’s like loving our own life. When we think that Hashem It is the source of our very life; we will realize that just as we love our own life, we also love... Hashem. And when we love Him, we will want to be with Him, and that (being with Him) is achieved through the study of Torah.
The second type of love to Hashem It is like that of a son, who loves his parents and sacrifices himself for them with all his strength. This is how Moshe loved. Hashem. We too can reach this love (because there is a spark of Moshe within us that helps this love to be revealed) when we think about how Hashem He is our true Father, because just as our parents give us life and sustain us, Hashem It gives life to the entire world, and sustains it, Hashem He is the true Source of life. And as good children, we love our Father.
But a problem can arise: we may think a lot about these matters and yet feel nothing in our hearts. Does our heart beat faster when we think about these things?… The Alter Rebbe says not to worry, because Hashem will unite that thought with the observance of the Mitzvot and the study of Torah (as explained in chapter 16). Our job is to get used to thinking about these matters for a long time, and thus, these levels of love to Hashem They will be revealed in our hearts.
Of course, the goal of love to Hashem is that it serves as motivation to achieve the Mitzvot and study Torah for the love of Hashem (and fear is also included in that love, that is, the fear of separating from Hashem). Except that the second level, the one that's like a son loving his father, has an additional point: it's impressive to think that, when studying Torah and comply Mitzvot, We are indeed generating enormous joy for Hashem (See chapter 31 on this topic).
(To understand what the Alter Rebbe is explaining now, you must have a clear understanding of what he already explained in chapter 39.) According to the motivation with which we fulfill a Mitzvah and we studied Torah, that Mitzvah and that Torah They will rise to a spiritual world or another: the higher the motivation, the higher that motivation will reach. Mitzvah or study of Torah.
When we turn one Mitzvah As a result of any of these types of love, if that love remained only in our brain, that is, we think about Hashem (as the Source of life or as our Father), that Mitzvah It will rise to the world of Formation. But if that love reaches our hearts and we feel it, that Mitzvah will rise to the world of Creation.
The Alter Rebbe concludes with a warning: let us not think that, having by nature love for Hashem As an inheritance from the patriarchs, it is not necessary to work on developing “Love that arises from the world” (explained in the previous chapter). Because “Love that arises from the world” has a very great advantage over these “natural” loves (just as gold is more important than silver): “Love that arises from the world,” by arising from meditation on the greatness of Hashem, It is like a burning fire in the heart, and that fire will give us enormous enthusiasm in the study of Torah and observance of Mitzvot.
Moreover, it is important to meditate on the greatness of Hashem (and develop “Love that arises from the world”) because that is precisely our mission: Hashem He created our brain so that we would use it to think about Him.