The Mitzva, “Love your friend as yourself,” is more important than one who makes the sacrifice (Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee]”).

What does the act of “sacrifice” represent? A person corrects one of their 620 desires and turns it toward bestowal; this is called “offering a sacrifice to the Creator” because through this correction, they draw closer to the Creator (the Hebrew word “Korban”—“sacrifice” comes from “Karov”—“close”).

Thus, any sacrifice from the still, vegetative, or animate levels brought by a person in this world symbolizes the gradual correction of all 620 desires with the intention to bestow.

Naturally, this is not about what to do with animals, wheat, wine, water, or blood, whatever was used at the altar. All these things do indeed take on physical form in our world, but their true meaning lies in the spiritual realm where the soul, made up of 620 desires, is being corrected.

In the process of correcting the desires, the commandments between a person and their friends are more effective than those between a person and the Creator.

Why? Baal HaSulam explains that we must correct our desires by shifting their intention from receiving to bestowal. In working with friends who are close to us in quality and in sharing the same goal, we can do this more effectively than with the Creator. He is concealed; His response is not directly felt by us. But our relationship with Him must be constant, just as His laws toward us are unchanging.

However, we are still in uncorrected vessels. Our states constantly fluctuate and disappear, so we are not yet able to enter into a connection with Him that would influence us effectively.

Therefore, only our relationships with friends remain the most effective means for advancing toward correction. In other words, the commandments “between a person and their friend” take precedence over those “between a person and the Creator.”

Put differently, the commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself” is far more important than all sacrifices and all other forms of relationship between a person and the Creator because it contributes more to the correction of the soul.
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From the 1^st part from the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/14/2025, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

Related Material:
What Is Sacrifice?
Sacrifices That Bring Us Closer To The Creator
The Most Important Commandment

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