[1O:1] A person should not say, "I will fulfill the mitzvos of the Torah, engrossing myself in its wisdom, to receive its blessings, thus meriting life in the World to Come." Nor should he say, "I will distance myself from all the sins the Torah cautions against, to be spared the curses listed in the Torah, so that my soul shall not be cut off from life in the World to Come." It is not right to serve God merely out of fear. Only unlearned people, serve God that way. To serve God out of fear is not the way of our prophets and wise men. Beginners at first serve God out of fear, and later when their intellect matures they are expected to serve Him out of love and joy.

[10:2] A person who serves God out of love busies himself with Torah study, and mitzvos, following the paths of wisdom, for the sake of the truth, and in the end, he will be rewarded. This high level of devotion is not easily attainable even by wise men. This is the level of worship attained by Abraham our Father. God described Abraham as "the one who loved Me." because he served God only out of love. God commanded us through Moses to serve Him with love, as it is written, "And you shall love the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 6:5). When one loves God properly, he immediately fulfills the mitzvos out of love.

[10:3] What is the proper way to serve God out of love and joy? A person's love for God should be so powerful that his soul is bound up in his love for God. He is consumed with this love, as if he were lovesick. Just as an ignorant person who becomes lovesick for a woman, his thoughts dwell constantly on this woman, so must a