Laurie Zimmet from Los Angeles, California wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I know in the Torah G-d specifically commands us to love Him, the stranger, and our neighbor. In the Torah (not the Tanach, apocrypha or oral law) does G-d specifically state that He loves us?

Dear Laurie Zimmet,

If the existence of chocolate isn't proof enough that G-d loves us, here's a verse from the Torah:

"You are a holy people to Hashem, your G-d. Hashem chose you to be His treasured people among all the peoples on the face of the earth.... Because of Hashem's love for you, and because He keeps the oath He swore to your ancestors, Hashem took you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from enslavement to Pharaoh, King of Egypt."

Why doesn't the Written Torah talk more about Hashem's special love for the Jewish People? Perhaps emphasizing this love would arouse jealousy among the nations, who have access to the Written Torah but not to the Oral Torah.

Source:

• Devarim 7:6-8