For the kabbalist, the golden rule is not simply to "love your neighbor as yourself," but, even more so, to “love your neighbor as yourself, when it is difficult." It is only when we love when it is difficult that we remove the layers of negativity that separate us from the Light of the Creator.
Thisis our challenge and our power: to extend tolerance to those who are different from us—not because we are “good people” or it’s the right thing to do, but because doing so brings us closer to achieving our potentialand revealing the spark of the Creator that exists within each and every one of us.