Tanya for the 23rd of Elul, כ''ג אלול

In the present letter, the Alter Rebbe elaborates upon two general categories in the love of G-d. The first category of love is granted man only as a gift from Above: he cannot attain it by dint of his own service. This pleasurable experience of Divinity is termed3 ahavah betaanugim (“a love which experiences delights”) and is a foretaste of the World to Come, wherein the soul basks in the rays of the Shechinah. The second category of love for G-d—longing and thirsting for Him—can be attained through man’s service and meditation.