Will we create a world from LOVE?

I’m going to lead a retreat called “Healing, Belonging and Kinning” retreat in May 2024. I have been studying healing and renewal songs from multiple traditions across the world. My grief ceremony teacher Beth Garrigus gave me about thirty songs from her vast collection. I went over my journals and notes from the last few years when I attended gatherings where healing, movement building, justice and peace were actively discussed. No, none of these gatherings were related to my formal jobs or scientific conferences. These were gatherings mostly designed and led by students, peacemakers, spiritual pagans, lovers-of-life living simply and exploring of loving. I found a song from one such gathering that I shook me to my core. This was written by a Jewish leader (Rabbi) after 9/11.

While researching this song, I read a lot about “Olam Chesed Yibaneh”. In Jewish tradition, this phrase is often translated as, “God’s love is everlasting” or “God builds the world from love” and even “We will build the world from love or compassion.” It is the context of the Psalm that gives the line its meaning, some have given the following interpretation to this phrase: “We must work together to apply God’s love to our broken world, and to build our world through love for each other”

OLAM CHESED YIBANEH
(Rabbi Menachem Creditor based on Psalm 89, line 3)
I will build this world from love, Yai dai la yalay lay lay lay
And you must build this world from love, Yai dai la yalay lay lay lay
And if we build this world from love, Yai dai la yalay lay lay lay
Then God will build this world from love, Yai dai la yalay lay lay lay

Here is one recent rendition on Youtube.

One of my spiritual teachers once clarified what kind of spiritual love we are trying to summon. Usually, we might think about love as loving specific personalities in our real lives or on TV, social media and magazines. Some personalities attract, fascinate and heal us but some other personalities repel us.  Our personal feelings can take the shape of love, respect, excitement, fatigue, boredom, frustration, disgust or even hatred.  The love on this spectrum of emotions is a contained and defined kind of love. It can be rich but it is conditional and inter-personal love on the basis of which we choose to interact with certain people more than others. But there is another kind of love which is immeasurable, unconditional and infinite love – that is a forcefield.

Study questions:

1. How does love build the world?

2. How can we love even in the face of tragedy and hate?

3. How does our human love facilitate infinite unconditional love?
   

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