Rachma (ܪܚܡܐ)

These are the words I taught concerning Love, for Love is the root of all wisdom and the crown of all virtue.

Love is the Way. From it rises patience, truth, courage, and peace. Without love, wisdom is empty; without love, justice is harsh; without love, faith is blind. But with love, all is fulfilled, and nothing is lacking.

“Teacher, you tell us to love, but what is love?”

Love is not hunger, nor is it thirst. It is not desire that consumes, nor fire that quickly burns and is gone. Love is the root that endures through winter, and the well that never dries.

Love is not possession, saying, You are mine, therefore I keep you. Love is the hand that opens, saying, You are free, therefore I honor you.

Love is patience with the slow, and gentleness with the weak. Love is strength that shields, not power that crushes. Love is truth spoken kindly, not silence that hides.

What is love? Love is the Breath of Truth moving between all things. It is the bond that joins mother to child, friend to friend, stranger to stranger, earth to heaven. It is the thread that weaves all into one garment.

There once was a village struck by famine. The people had little, and each feared to lose what remained. They hid their grain, each in his own house, and the children grew thin.

But one woman came to the square with a pot of water and said, “I will make a stew, though I have only stones.” She set the pot to boil, and the people gathered. One brought a handful of barley, another a scrap of meat, another a few herbs. Soon the pot was full, and the fragrance filled the air.

They ate together and were satisfied, and the famine was broken, for they had learned to share.

So it is with love: it begins as a stone in the pot, but when each adds what they have, the feast is made.

Why love? Because in love all wounds are healed. The body may be broken, the house may be poor, but if love abides there, nothing is lost. A meal of bread and water shared in love is sweeter than a feast without it.

Why love yourself? Because the Breath of Truth dwells in you. If you despise yourself, you despise the dwelling of the Holy One. If you care for yourself, you will have strength to care for others. For no lamp can light another if its flame is not tended.

Why love your neighbor? Because your neighbor is your mirror. If you curse them, your curse returns to you. If you bless them, the blessing fills your own house. The wound of one is the wound of all, but the joy of one is the joy of many.

Why love the stranger? Because the stranger carries the same Breath, though you do not know their name. To reject them is to close your door against Truth itself.

There once was a traveler who fell among robbers. He was beaten and left by the road. A merchant passed and said, “He is not of my people,” and crossed over. A priest passed and said, “He is not of my faith,” and crossed over. But a stranger from a distant land came, and when he saw the man, he lifted him upon his beast, washed his wounds, and brought him to shelter.

Tell me, who was neighbor to the traveler? The one who showed mercy. Go, then, and do likewise.

“Teacher, how shall we love?”

Begin with yourself. Tend your body with kindness, for it is the dwelling of the Breath. Guard your mind with gentleness, for harsh thoughts are a fire that consumes. Speak to yourself as you would to a child who is learning, with patience, not wrath.

Then love your neighbor. Greet them with peace; feed them when they hunger; speak kindly when they falter. Do not ask what tongue they speak, what gods they serve, or what banner they carry. See first their breath, for it is the same breath as yours.

There once was a farmer who had two oxen yoked together. One was strong and the other weak. The strong ox despised the weak, saying, “You hold me back.” But the farmer said, “If I drive the strong alone, the plow will break; if I drive the weak alone, the field will not be turned. But if I drive them together, the furrow is straight, and the harvest is full.”

So it is with yourself: the strong and the weak within you must walk together. Love binds them in one yoke. Despise the weak, and you will break; honor both, and your life will bear fruit.

I once saw a woman with two jars at the well. One was whole, the other was cracked. Each day she filled both and carried them home. The cracked jar wept, saying, “Why do you keep me, for I lose all that you give?” But the woman said, “Do you not see? The path you water has grown flowers, and each day I walk in beauty.”

So it is with love: it does not cast away the broken, for even in their weakness they bring life.

When shall you love? Love in the morning, when you rise, that the day may be blessed. Love in the evening, when you lie down, that your rest may be whole. Love when you labor, that your work may be joy.

Love not only in times of ease, but in times of trial. Love when anger stirs, for love turns anger into peace. Love when you are wronged, for forgiveness is the highest love. Love when it costs you, for such love shines brighter than gold.

“Teacher, what if my neighbor hates me?”

To love the one who loves you is no great thing; even the robber loves his companion in crime. But to love the one who hates you is to break the chain of hatred. For love is stronger than fear, and mercy more enduring than wrath.

There once was a fire in a village. Each household guarded its own flame, fearing it would be stolen. But when a storm came, the flames went out, and the people sat in darkness. Then one woman took a coal from her hearth and carried it from house to house until all were warmed again.

So it is with love: if you hoard it, it will die; if you share it, it will endure.

Love yourself, for the Breath of Truth dwells in you. Love your neighbor, for the same Breath dwells in them. Welcome the stranger, for in them too the Voice is heard. Love the world, for it is the handiwork of the Holy One.

This is what love is: the thread that binds all. This is why love: because without it nothing stands. This is how love: with patience, generosity, and mercy. This is when love: at all times, in all places, with all beings.

Walk in love, and you will walk in Truth.