I once heard a lecture given by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, shlita (Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion), in which he said something that I will never forget. Our nation, he said, is comprised of various different groups. Each group has its own unique way of serving Hashem. We are like a football team. The quarterback has his job to do, the running back has his job to do, and the linebackers have their job to do. The quarterback does not strive to be a linebacker, yet he realizes that, in order to win the game, we need that linebacker. In order to win the game, we need the unique contribution of each different type of player on the team. That is precisely how we must view those who have a way of serving Hashem that is different from our own. We should not look down upon them; we should not even necessarily strive to be like them. But we must appreciate them. We must appreciate their contribution to our nation. They are contributing in a way that we ourselves are not.

This, I believe, is how we can all begin to increase our love for our fellow Jews. A woman who stays at home and raises her children full-time while her husband works and makes a living should feel gratitude toward the woman who works full-time and supports her husband who is learning in Kollel. The Kollel wife is working so hard so that her husband can remain immersed in Torah study and become an even greater talmid chacham. Conversely, the woman who works to support her husband in Kollel should appreciate the woman who stays home with her children full-time, devoting all her energy to raising tzon kedoshim—holy Jewish children.

The Litvak who analytically takes apart each line in the Talmud, forcing his mind to come up with an answer to every question that arises, should look with heartfelt thanks at the Chasid who prays with so much more emotion and joy than he does. We need people who are willing to pour such energy into prayer. And the Chasid should realize that his Litvak friend, who may not dance during prayers as he does, is contributing in his own way through his Talmudic diligence.

The working man should never look down on the full-time Kollel man. Where would the level of Torah be without men like this? The full-time Kollel man, in turn, should appreciate the working man who wakes up at 5:00 A.M. each morning to learn Daf Yomi before he begins his workday, and learns again at night after a long hard day’s work.

I may not be a Chabad Chasid, and I may never strive to become one. But who else would travel to the far stretches of the world to bring lost Jews back to Judaism? I must appreciate that!

The Religious-Zionist Jew may disagree with the Satmar anti-Zionist Jew, and that’s okay. But he should look at all of the kindness, at the soup kitchens and hospital volunteers that the Satmar produce, and thank them for their contribution to our nation. On the other hand, the anti-Zionist (or non-Zionist) should look at the loving sacrifice that the Religious-Zionist makes for Eretz Yisrael, through building the land and keeping and learning the Torah in it.

How many secular Jews have given and continue to give their lives for the Jewish people and our land, in ways that the average religious Jew does not do? Who is walking the streets of Ramallah disguised as Arabs, searching for and eliminating the terrorist bomb-makers who threaten us daily? Shouldn’t we have tremendous appreciation for them?

This is the key to increasing our Ahavat Yisrael. We must look honestly at others and realize that they are fulfilling tasks that we are not. Each in his own way is making a contribution. Though we may differ in many ways, we have to remember and appreciate that we are all one team. When we begin to think about others in this fashion, we will begin to appreciate them and even hold them in esteem. We will begin to love them.