Musar sobre Jeremías 31:2

Rabbi Yose said: May I behold the Shechinah (a form of oath to the truth his testimony), I came to the same village several years later and saw the child that was born to them. He was now seven years old. I wanted to speak to him but he refused! His father told him, “Go to the man, for he is of great stature.” But the child said, “I am afraid to speak with him or even to approach him since I do not know whether he possesses a holy soul or not. For my teacher taught me just today that it is forbidden to speak with or approach anyone who does not have a holy soul.” His father said to him, “Heaven forbid! He is a man of great stature and one of the greatest scholars of the generation!” So the child approached me. But before he had a chance to say anything else to me he said, “I see that you possess a new soul that has only recently entered and was not imbued in you at the time that you entered the world.” I replied in astonishment, “That is indeed the case! For when I was a young student toiling in Torah I was imbued with a new soul.” Then I asked, “Who is your teacher?” He replied, “Rabbi Alexandrus.” “And what did you study today?” He said to me, “This verse, ‘The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem; they have good understanding all those who do the commandments’ (Tehillim 111:10). Our Rabbis have interpreted: ‘Those who do for the sake of Heaven.’ ” And his teacher revealed to him amazing insights. I said to him, “What is your name?” He answered, “Ahavah” (i.e., “Love”). I said to him, “Master Ahavah, ‘I have loved you with an eternal love’ (Yirmeyahu 31:2).” I also had the merit of meeting his son, Rabbi Ada the son of Rabbi Ahavah, and related to him all the above.