"The opening verb form, ve-ahavta, rather than the imperative ehov, allows the prefixed vav to be taken as purposive. ... The rest of the verse serves as a topic sentence for a corresponding threefold explication in the following verses—drawn from the key terms heart (, leivav), soul (, nefesh), and might (, meʾod)—that spells out the implementation of the command."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V'ahavta