DylanCelebration

The second blessing before the Sh’ma—Ahavah Rabbah/Ahavat Olam—is all about love. For the Rabbis, the Torah is a ketubah—a marriage contract—between the Holy One and the Jewish people. It is, thus, a gift of absolute, unconditional love from our creator.

Bob Dylan speaks of unbounded affection in “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” from his 1965 album “Bringing It All Back Home.” While the object of Dylan’s abiding adoration is human rather than Divine, in most religious traditions, the line between these two types of love is frequently blurred. By way of example, “Song of Songs” is a sensuous poem exchanged between human lovers—and also, according to our tradition, an allegory of the passionate relationship we share with the Holy One.

When love is truly unconditional—minus zero, with no limit—it both embraces this world and transcends it. And, as Dylan notes in the song, it brings precious calm to the chaos that so often rages around us.

"My love she speaks like silence, without ideals or violence,

She doesn't have to say she's faithful,

yet she's true, like ice, like fire.

People carry roses, make promises by the hours,

My love she laughs like the flowers, valentines can't buy her."

This morning, give thanks for the sources of unbounded love in your life. Listen to the incredible live version “Love Minus Zero/No Limit below. (The “backup” band includes George Harrison on guitar, Leon Russell on bass, and Ringo Starr on drums. Not bad.)