What Does It Mean to Truly Love Hashem? The Ramchal Explains

“The essence of love is that a person should truly yearn and long for closeness to Hashem and pursue His holiness, just as a person pursues something he deeply desires. The mention of His Name, speaking His praises, and engaging in His Torah and His Divinity should become a genuine source of delight and pleasure, like one who deeply loves the wife of his youth or his only son, for whom even speaking about them brings contentment and joy.”

Source: Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Mesillat Yesharim, Chapter 19.

Meaning of the Quote

The Ramchal describes what it means for a person to truly love his Creator. Love of Hashem is not meant to remain an abstract idea or intellectual belief. A person should develop a genuine yearning and deep desire to draw close to Hashem and pursue holiness.

Remembering Hashem, speaking His praises, studying His Torah, and contemplating His Divinity should become sources of genuine pleasure and joy.

The Ramchal compares this love to the powerful love a person feels for his wife or only child. When someone loves another person deeply, even speaking about that person brings happiness and satisfaction. In the same way, love of Hashem can become so real and deeply felt that simply speaking about Him, praising Him, and learning His Torah brings a person genuine joy.

A Few Words About the Author

The Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, passed away approximately 280 years ago. He was an outstanding Torah scholar whose writings encompassed Jewish thought, mussar, and Kabbalah. He lived and taught in Italy and, toward the end of his life, moved to the Land of Israel, where he is traditionally believed to have been buried in Tiberias.

Many of his writings were lost over the years. Among the works that survived and were published are Mesillat Yesharim (The Path of the Just), Derech Hashem (The Way of God), and Da’at Tevunot. These works remain foundational texts in Jewish thought and mussar to this day.