As You Love Yourself

Rav Charlap; Mei Marom commentary on Leviticus 19:18. Translation by Aryeh ben David

There are several different levels of loving.

One level of loving is for the sake of the one loving-- and not the beloved. This is an improper love since its whole intention is not really for the beloved, rather it seeks to attain something through the "means" of loving.

There is a more refined form of loving, when someone loves in order to be loved in return. Here, there is no extrinsic purpose or quality other than the loving itself. Nevertheless, this is not a pure form of loving, since within this loving there is a desire to receive something in return.

Then there is the act of loving that desires nothing in return-- and the one loving desires only that the beloved realizes that he or she is indeed loved.