Besides the common understanding of love as affection toward another, ahavah goes beyond emotions. It is like shema in that it can also describe actions associated with love, not just an inward mental state. Ahavah can also mean “to act lovingly toward” or “to be loyal to.” You see this in ancient treaties, when an enemy king who signed a covenant would pledge to “love” the king with whom he was making peace. This meant that the enemy king would act loyally, not that he would have warm thoughts about