BS’D
Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated L’iluy nishmat Shlomo ben Joya a’h, my dear step father. May his soul bask in the Divine radiance among all of the righteous who have departed from this world, Amen.
Fear is a powerful emotion. Every feeling and emotion we have was created deliberately by Hashem and retains some aspect of positive benefit, including the emotion of fear. Thus, we can use any fear we experience to our advantage.
First, fear can protect us since it causes us to proceed with caution. In situations of danger, fear enables us to protect ourselves and our families, and to escape evil. The word ‘fear’ in Hebrew ‘yirah’ which can also be translated as ‘awe’ coming from the word ‘ra’ah’ which means to ‘see.’ In this sense, seeing Hashem’s power leads us to awe of Hashem and awakens us to spiritually grow. This ‘awe’ deepens our awareness of Hashem and causes us to reach out to Him via intense tefillah and devotion. It enables us to internalize the truth that we can only rely on Him. The Ba’al Shem Tov HaKadosh teaches that Hashem sent fear out of love to stir us with Heavenly awe, so that we continuously turn to Him with yearning to become G-dly.
Fear can awaken yirat Shamayim when internalized correctly. Fear enables Hashem’s stern justice to bring the world to its ultimate purpose. Finally, the reality of the fear is Heavenly sent as a means to reflect on the truthful reality of life that there is only One to fear.
An amazing segula to help put fear in context is to recite the last lines of Adon Olam,‘B’Yado afkid ruchi, be’et ishan ve’aera, v’im ruchi geviyati, Hashem li ve’lo ira(Into Hashem’s hands I entrust my spirit when I sleep and when I wake; and with my spirit and my body also, Hashem is with me, I will not fear.)” Yet, in our morning prayers we pray, “Reishit Kochman Yirat Hashem… The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem.” How can we juxtapose “I will not fear” with “wisdom is the fear of Hashem?”
Fear is equated with wisdom as long as our fear is ONLY the fear of Hashem. If we truly have fear of Hashem, and we have internalized the truth that Hashem Echad, Hashem in One (the third of the constant mitzvoth), then we will not experience fear of anyone or anything else. The positive aspect of fear is being in awe of Hashem. By adopting this positive aspect of fear, the negative aspect of fear – which is essentially the fear of anything else other than Hashem – will naturally dissipate.
