“You have loved us with a great love, O Lord our G-d; you have pitied us greatly and excessively. Our Father, Our King – for the sake of our fathers who trusted in You, to whom You taught the laws of life , may You similarly favor us and teach us. Our Father! Merciful Father! Have pity on us! Place in our hearts [the ability] to understand, comprehend, listen, learn, teach, and fulfill all the words of Your Torah and mitzvos with love. Enlighten our eyes with Your Torah; cause our hearts to cleave to Your mitzvos. Unite all our hearts to love and fear Your Name. Let us never be ashamed, for we have put our trust in Your Holy Name. We will rejoice in your salvation. Lead us to peace from the four corners of the land; let us walk upright to our land. For You are the G-d Who performs wonders. You have chosen us from among every nation. Bring us eternally close to Your great Name in truth, to thank You and declare Your Oneness with love. Blessed are You, O Lord, Who chooses His nation Israel with love.”

I.

One of the most stirring Tefillos in Shacharis is the Bracha of Ahava Rabba, recited immediately prior to Shema. In heartfelt prose, we remind ourselves of G-d’s love for us, invoke His mercy, and pray that we merit the ability to properly observe His precious mitzvos. We conclude with a plea that G-d speedily restore us to the Land of Israel, ending our long exile and reaffirming our status as G-d’s beloved Chosen People. In many synagogues, the recitation of Ahava Rabba is characterized by a special intensity, due to the power of its prose and the importance of the themes it addresses.

Indeed, the themes of Ahava Rabba are important, but an analysis of this Tefilla leaves one with the impression that the Bracha has been “overpacked” with too many different topics. In the space of about one hundred Hebrew words, Ahava Rabba touches on G-d’s love and mercy for us, the concept of Patriarchal merit (zechus avos), a prayer that we be successful in Torah study and mitzvah observance, a plea that we never be ashamed, prayers for the final redemption, the choseness of the Jewish people, and the Jewish people’s determination to declare G-d’s transcendent Oneness. What is the unifying theme behind all these seemingly disparate elements?

I believe that identifying the underlying theme behind Ahava Rabba will not enhance our understanding of this beautiful Bracha, but deepen our appreciation the abiding relationship each of us possess with the Creator.

II.

The Talmud records a dispute as to whether the Bracha opens with the words “Ahava Rabba Ahavtanu” (“You have loved us with a great love”) or “Ahavas Olam Ahavtanu” (“You have loved us with an eternal love”). The Talmud quotes no less than four different Amoraic authorities who weigh in on various sides of the issue. The Rishonim, as well, take different positions, thus leading to the current practice of Nusach Ashkenaz reciting “Ahava Rabba” and Nusach Sefard preferring “Ahavas Olam.” [The basic format of the Bracha is not disputed, only the two words which begin the prayer. It should be noted that both Ashkenazim and Sefardim recite a different, shorter Bracha prior to reciting Shema in the evening which begins with the words Ahavas Olam in both rites. That Bracha is not the subject of the present discussion.]

One wonders as to the nature of this dispute. Minor liturgical differences between various Nuscha’os are certainly plentiful, and it is reasonable to assume that these divergent practices existed during Talmudic times as well. Why is the exact phraseology of the Bracha preceding Shema a subject of dispute? It is true that we often find disputes in the Talmud as to how to recite a chasimas haBracha- the closing formula of a Bracha – but the discussion before us seems trivial. After all, what difference does it make whether G-d loves us “greatly” or “eternally”?

Also puzzling are certain compromise positions which aim to accommodate both opinions. Thus, the Ashkenazic Rishonim suggest reciting Ahava Rabba during Shacharis and Ahavas Olam at Ma’ariv, a practice which is maintained today in Nusach Ashkenaz. Some Chassidic customs recite Ahavas Olam at weekday Shacharis prayers, while reserving Ahava Rabba for Shabbos. What is the nature of these compromises, which on the surface seem to satisfy neither opinion cited in the Talmud?

A hint as to the answer lies in the sole Biblical source cited by the Talmud in the course of the debate. “The Rabbis say: [One should recite] ‘Ahavas Olam,’ as the verse (Jeremiah 31:2) says, ‘I have loved you with an eternal love (Ahavas Olam); therefore, I have drawn kindness over you.’” [Berachos 11b]

The context of this citation is illuminating. The prophet Jeremiah is turning his attention to a Jewish people broken by exile, an exile produced by its own sins. An outsider would conclude that Klal Yisrael is no longer deserving of G-d’s love. Strictly speaking, this observation would be correct. Certainly, the Jewish people have not acted in a way which merits divine love. Yet, Jeremiah’s message to the people is that G-d’s love is unconditional. “I have loved you with eternal love” – even when you don’t deserve it. Therefore, continues the prophet, G-d has bestowed His kindness upon the Jewish people. His salvation is a manifestation of divine kindness, not of human merit. This is the essence of “Ahavas Olam” – G-d’s unchanging love for us despite ourselves.

Ahava Rabba, on the other hand, speaks of G-d’s great love for us, a love that comes of pride in our actions. We have lived up to G-d’s expectations for us. The Ahava Rabba – the great love – is therefore richly deserved.

We can now begin to understand the intensity of the Talmud’s debate over the phrasing of this Bracha. At issue is not simply a terminological issue, but a theological issue of great import: What is the nature of G-d’s love for us? Are we the worthy recipients of Ahava Rabba? Or are we the undeserving beneficiaries of Ahavas Olam, an eternal love born out of pity? The answer cuts to the very essence of our relationship with the Almighty.

We can understand, as well, the compromise positions outlined earlier. Certainly we can grasp that our relationship with G-d varies. Collectively and individually, we all experience periods of Ahava Rabba – and yes, periods of Ahavas Olam. There are certainly times in everyone’s life- and by extension, in the vast span of Klal Yisrael’s history – where we have either made G-d proud, so to speak, or disappointed. Our Tefillos reflect those vicissitudes. As a rule, Shacharis reflects the daytime periods of our lives and collective existence – life is clear and easily understood. It makes sense then to speak of G-d’s pride in us. Conversely, Ma’ariv is a period of spiritual darkness just as it exudes physical darkness. In a time of darkness and exile, we can only speak of G-d’s love for us as Ahavas Olam. The distinction between Shabbos and the weekday prayers can be understood in a similar fashion.

III.

One might be tempted, on the basis of our analysis, to attribute fundamental differences in worldview to Ashkenazim and Sefardim. After all, if we are correct, their respective choices for the opening words of the Bracha preceding Shema reflect very divergent views concerning our relationship with the Almighty. A closer look, however, reveals that Eilu V’Eilu Divrei Elokim Chaim- both views, in their own ways, are correct and represent elements of the message implicit in the Bracha.

We noted at the beginning of this essay that Ahava Rabba seems to be “jam-packed” with different themes. I believe that the Bracha can be sub-divided into three different sections.

The opening segment of the Bracha asks G-d to maintain a relationship with us despite our lack of personal merit. “You have pitied us greatly,” we remind Him. Pity, of course, is bestowed upon the undeserving. “For the sake of our fathers who trusted in You … find favor with us and teach us.” In this context, the invocation of Patriarchal merit is readily understood. We have no personal merit. Our plea for a loving relationship can only be based on zechus avos. In short, the Bracha opens with a quintessential statement of Ahavas Olam, G-d’s eternal, undeserved, love for us.

Let us move for the moment to the third and last section of the Bracha. The closing segment of the Bracha begins, I believe, with the words, “V’lo neivosh l’olam va’ed” – “Let us never be ashamed.” Those words usher in a very different picture of the relationship between ourselves and G-d. It is a relationship where shame – the embarrassment of an undeserving recipient – plays no role. Instead, we are treated to a glorious visage of a Jewish people basking unabashedly in G-d’s glory. “We will rejoice in your salvation. Lead us to peace from the four corners of the land; let us walk upright to our land… You have chosen us from among every nation. Bring us eternally close to Your great Name in truth.” The love here is clearly Ahava Rabba, a love coupled with pride.

We open with Ahavas Olam- and close with Ahava Rabba. What enables this remarkable transformation to take place? How, in the space of a few lines of Hebrew text, can we fundamentally transform the relationship between a nation and its Creator?

The answer lies in the second, transitional, segment of the Bracha. “Place in our hearts [the ability] to understand, comprehend, listen, learn, teach, and fulfill all the words of Your Torah and mitzvos with love.” The way to transform Ahavas Olam into Ahava Rabba is through the sincere and unflagging devotion to the study of Torah and performance of its mitzvos. G-d will always love us. But whether the love is a love of pity or a love of pride depends exclusively on us.

In the final analysis, then, the Ashkenazim and Sefardim essentially agree. We generally experience divine love as Ahavas Olam, and pray that we be able to alter that love so that it is Ahava Rabba. The dispute in the Talmud, and between the various Nuscha’os, is a relatively minor one: Should the opening of the Bracha be consistent with the initial segment of the Bracha, which speaks of G-d’s pity, or should it foreshadow the concluding segment, which has already anticipated a love of pride?

We begin Shema every morning reassured that G-d’s love for us is eternal, despite our worst misdeeds. We should be inspired, as well, to ensure that His love is not left unrequited.