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This Shabbat, we are commanded in the Torah, “You shall Love Adonai, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” These are the opening words of V’ahavtah, the prayer, that follows the Sh’ma. One might ask how can we be commanded to love? How can one’s feelings or beliefs be dictated?

One midrash explains, “’Love Adonai, your God’ commands not belief but behavior. Act as in such a way to make God beloved in the eyes of those who know you.” (Midrash Ha-Gadol as translated by Etz Hayim Torah Commentary). In other words, we inspire love for God, in ourselves and others, by our actions, by speaking and acting in a way that lives up to the responsibility of being created in God’s image.

Taking inspiration from a favorite opening prayer in Mishkan T’filah:

To love God is to love each other,
to work to make our lives better.
To love God is to love the world God created
and to work to perfect it.
To love God is to love dreams of peace and joy
that illumine all of us,
and to bring that vision to life.

This Shabbat and always may we love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might.