The first stage is love between friends and then they can attain the love of the Creator.
Rabash, The Rungs of the Ladder,
“What Is the Substance of Slander and Against Whom Is It?”
Bear in mind that the Mitzvot between man and man come before the Mitzvot between man and God, because the bestowal upon one’s friend brings one to bestow upon his Maker.
Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 19
We must understand the essence of the love of God from the properties of love by which one person relates to another. The love of God is necessarily given through these qualities, since they were only imprinted in humans for His name to begin with.
Baal HaSulam,
“Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 69
When one completes one’s work in love and bestowal for one’s fellow person and comes to the highest point, one also completes one’s love and bestowal for the Creator. In that state there is no difference between the two, for anything that is outside one’s body, meaning one’s self-interest is judged equally - either to bestow upon one’s friend or bestow contentment upon one’s Maker.
Baal HaSulam,
“The Love for the Creator & Love for the Created Beings”
The impression that comes to a person when engaging in Mitzvot between man and God is completely the same as the impression he gets when engaging in Mitzvot between man and man. He is obliged to perform all the Mitzvot Lishma (for Her name), without any hope for self-love, meaning that no light or hope returns to him through his trouble in the form of reward or honor, etc. Here, in this exalted point, the love of the Creator and the love of his friend unite and actually become one.
Baal HaSulam, The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee], Item 22
There are two parts to the Torah: one concerns man and God; the other concerns man and man. And I call upon you to, at any rate, engage and assume that which concerns man and man, since thus you will also learn the part that concerns man and God.
Baal HaSulam, “One Commandment”
Even if we see that there are two parts to the Torah: The first— Mitzvot between man and God, and the second - Mitzvot between man and man, they are both one and the same thing. This means that the actual purpose of them and the desired goal are one, namely Lishma.
It makes no difference if one works for one’s friend or for the Creator. That is because it is carved in us by the nature of creation that anything that comes from the outside appears empty and unreal.
Baal HaSulam,
“The Love for the Creator & Love for the Created Beings”
This is what Hillel Hanasi assumed, that “Love thy friend as thyself” is the ultimate goal in the practice. That is because it is the clearest form to mankind.
We should not be mistaken with deeds, for they are set before ones eyes. We know that if we place the needs of our friends before our own, it is bestowal. For that reason Hillel does not define the goal as “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,” because they are indeed one and the same thing. It is so because one should also love one’s friend with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, because that is the meaning of the words “as thyself.” After all one certainly loves oneself with all one’s heart and soul and might, but with regards to the Creator, one may deceive oneself; and with one’s friend it is always spread out before his eyes.
Baal HaSulam,
“The Love for the Creator & Love for the Created Beings”
We should know that there is a virtue to love of friends: one cannot deceive himself and say that he loves the friends if in fact he doesn’t love them. Here he can examine whether he truly has love of friends or not. But with love of the Creator, one cannot examine oneself, if his intention is the love of the Creator, meaning that he wants to bestow upon the Creator, or his desire is to receive in order to receive.
Rabash, Rabash—the Social Writings,
“Come unto Pharaoh (2)”
The part of the Torah that deals with man’s relationship with his friend is more capable of bringing one to the desired goal. This is because the work in Mitzvot between man and God is fixed and specific, and is not demanding, and one becomes easily accustomed to it, and everything that is done out of habit is no longer useful. But the Mitzvot between man and man are changing and irregular, and demands surround him wherever he may turn. Hence, their cure is much more certain and their aim is closer.
Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], Item 14
With respect to a person who is still within the nature of Creation, there is no difference between the love of God and the love of his fellow person.
This is because anything that is not him is unreal to him. And because that proselyte asked of Hillel Hanasi to explain to him the desired outcome of the Torah, so his goal would be near, and he would not have to walk a long way, as he said, “Teach me the whole Torah while I am standing on one leg;” hence, he defined it for him as love of his friend because its aim is nearer and is revealed faster, since it is mistake-proof and is demanding.
Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], Item 15
He who thinks that he is deceiving his friend, is really deceiving the Creator, since besides man’s body there is only the Creator. This is because it is the essence of creation that man is called “creature” only with respect to himself. The Creator wants man to feel that he is a separated reality from Him; but except for that, it is all “the whole earth is full of His glory.”
Hence, when lying to one’s friend, one is lying to the Creator; and when saddening one’s friend, one is saddening the Creator. For this reason, if one is accustomed to speak the truth, it will help him with respect to the Creator.
Baal HaSulam, Shamati[I Heard], Article no. 67, “Depart from Evil”
There are two parts in the Torah: 1) Mitzvot between man and God, and 2) Mitzvot between man and man. And they both aim for the same thing – to bring the creature to the final purpose of Dvekut with Him.
Furthermore, even the practical side in both of them is really one and the same, because when one performs an act Lishma, without any mixture of self-love, meaning without finding any benefit for himself, then one does not feel any difference whether one is working to love one’s friend or to love the Creator.
Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah], Item 13
There is no other cure for humanity but the acceptance of the commandment of Providence: bestowal upon others in order to bring contentment to the Creator in the measure of the two verses.
The first is "love thy friend as thyself," which is the attribute of the work itself. This means that the measure of work to bestow upon others for the happiness of society should be no less than the measure imprinted in man to care for his own needs. Moreover, he should put his fellow person’s needs before his own.
And the other verse is, “And you shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” This is the goal that must be before everyone’s eyes when laboring for one’s friend’s needs. This means that he labors and toils only to be liked by the Creator.
Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”