“I am going to take this bucket of water and pour it on the flames of hell, and then I am going to use this torch to burn down the gates of paradise so that people will not love God for want of heaven or fear of hell, but because He is God." This quote tells the story of Rabe’a al-Adiwiyah, a great woman saint of Sufism. She was seen running threw her village with a flaming torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. I think in a way this is what our teachers and Rabbis have wanted to say to us. Don’t love G-d because there’s a reward if you follow the mitzvot, and don’t follow them just for the fear of punishment, but love G-d because He is G-d and He should be loved. Loving G-d for the reward is like loving your mother because she’ll give you presents, or loving your mother because you’re scared she’ll scream at you if you don’t, but you should on principle love your mother because she’s your mother. Love for G-d like love for your mother should be unconditional.
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