Jesus was quoting from two passages from the Torah, Deuteronomy 6:4–5 and Leviticus 19:18. Both of these lines share a distinctive word, v’ahavta (ve-ah-HAV-tah, “and you shall love”), so Jewish teachers would meditate on how the two lines might reflect on each other: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart. (Deut. 6:5) You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Lev. 19:18) The second is like the first, Jesus declared. Indeed, it could even be said that in order to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, you need to love your neighbor as yourself.
