Love Is Not Enough — Learning to Respect the People We Love

 Earlier this week, we spoke about the Kohen Gadol on YomKippur. The holiest man, on the holiest day, entering the holiest place — andyet the Torah insists that he cannot enter alone. He must have a home. He musthave a wife. Before a person can stand before HaShem in the Kodesh HaKodashim,he must first learn how to stand properly before another human being.     That thought came back to me when a friend shared abeautiful article from Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky asking: How do we respect thepeople we love? We all know the famous words, “Love your fellow as yourself.”But Rabbi Abittan always reminded us that people forget the end of the pasuk:“Ani HaShem.” HaShem is telling us that our relationship with Him begins withthe way we treat each other — especially the people closest to us. This episodeexplores Rabbi Akiva’s students, the Omer, marriage, family, respect, and thedifficult truth that love alone is not enough.