DO YOU KNOW WHAT LOVE IS?

All love that is contingent upon something, when the thing ceases, [the] love ceases; and [all love] that does not rely on something, will last forever. Which is the [kind of] love that depends on something? The love of Amnon for Tamar; and [what is the kind of love] that does not rely on a [transient] thing? The love of David and Jonathan.

Your Navigator

1. Look at II Samuel Chapter 13 for the story of Amnon and Tamar.
2. Look at I Samuel Chapter 20 for some of the story of David and Jonathan's relationship.
3. Do the dynamics of either relationship appeal to you?
4. What does the Mishnah in Values of Our Fathers say is the most important ingredient for love everlasting?

A Word

The author of this statement believes that everlasting love happens when one's devotion is not contingent upon how the other fulfills one's own needs, and when one's only concern is the well-being of the other. That is the love that will endure fleeting beauty, empty nests, infirmity and poverty. There is only one example of a friendship like this in the entire Bible. What does that tell us?