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Wisdom for Living
Rabbi Noah Weinberg on the Parashah
9 min read
"Now, O Israel, what does Hashem, your God, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your God..." (Deuternomy 10:12).
The Talmud derives from this verse that everything is in the hands of Heaven except fear of Heaven (Berachos 33b). Since fear of Heaven is the only thing completely in our power, it is the only thing Hashem can ask of us.
However, every Shabbos before the new month, we pray to God to give us fear of Heaven: “and grant us long life… a life that has within it fear of Heaven and fear of transgression….” Why do we pray for fear of Heaven if it is entirely in our hands, not Hashem’s?
In truth, everything is a gift from God, including fear of Heaven. We cannot even lift a finger without the Almighty enabling us to do so. However, before fulfilling our requests, Hashem evaluates what the impact of granting our wishes will be. Will it draw us closer to Him or push us further away? If what we seek is truly good for us and consistent with God’s plan, then there is no reason for God not to grant it to us. But if that which we covet will cause us to escape reality and distance ourselves from Hashem, then He will likely be disinclined to give it to us.
Even spiritual goals require this assessment, because they, too, can cause us to move further away from God. For example, if learning a lot of Torah causes a person to become complacent or arrogant, it distances him from God and is therefore bad for him.
The only desire that does not need this evaluation is yirat Shamayim, fear of Heaven. By definition, yirat Shamayim plants us firmly into reality and brings us closer to Hashem. A person cannot be awake and asleep simultaneously. Similarly, if we are fearing God, we cannot be escaping reality and ignoring Him.
“Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for fear of Heaven” means that only yirat Shamayim comes with an ironclad guarantee that one who truly wants it will successfully attain it. There are no obstacles to getting it; it is completely in our hands, because it is the only accomplishment that can never be counterproductive.
The Torah describes fear of Heaven as a small thing. "Now, Israel, what does Hashem, your God, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your God...." No big deal! That’s all God wants from us. But attaining yirat Shamayim is not so easy. "Is it just a small matter?" the Talmud asks incredulously (Berachos 33b).
True, yirat Shamayim is not simple to attain, but it is eminently doable. Nothing is stopping you from attaining it. All that is required is for you to truly desire it. In this respect, fearing God is a small thing.
Fear gives us clarity. At the moment when someone jumps out of an airplane or is hurtling at 100 miles an hour into a hairpin curve, he is not thinking about the mortgage or the leaky faucet. The danger he experiences makes him forget about all his petty concerns and awakens him to the exquisite beauty and thrill of being alive. Through the risk of death he touches the sheer joy and meaning that life has to offer.
Fear brings into sharp focus the very real consequences at stake in life, infusing every moment with great meaning. Fear of punishment means living with the clarity of the profound consequences that are inevitable if we transgress. It is comparable to the fear one would feel when crossing the Grand Canyon on a tightrope. Each step is taken with great caution and trepidation, because one misstep spells the difference between life and death.
Fearing God also entails the fear of losing the eternal reward that comes as a result of performing even the simplest mitzvah. The fear of squandering this priceless opportunity is comparable to the desperation of a person who searches frantically for the winning lottery ticket he accidentally threw out.
The last minute of a championship basketball game is always the most exciting because that's when every single second counts. Every shot could be the winning basket. Living with the awareness of life's profound consequences gives us direct access to the pleasure of living a meaningful life.
Fear of God protects us from transgressing because it makes us aware that we are under constant surveillance, as the Mishnah says, “Look at three things and you will not come to transgress: Know what is above you – an eye that sees and an ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book.” (Avos 2:1)
How do you feel when you see a police car with flashing lights in your rear-view mirror bearing down on you? You immediately start to worry: What am I doing wrong? Am I speeding? Talking on my cell phone? Am I wearing my seatbelt? Did I pay the insurance? Even if the police are just driving by, their presence makes us check and recheck ourselves.
On the first halachah in the Shulchan Aruch, the Rema writes, “Shiviti Hashem lenegdi tamid – I place God before me always – this is the major principle of the Torah.” That’s because living with the awareness that we are in the presence of the Almighty transforms the way we act and speak. We would refrain from transgressing if we knew that our every thought and deed is being filmed by the Creator of the universe, and will be broadcasted for eternity.
There is a famous story told about the Chofetz Chaim, who was once traveling in a wagon when the driver saw an orchard by the side of the road, full of ripe, tempting fruit.
"Wait here for a minute," the driver said, jumping out of the coach. "I'm going to pick some fruit. You keep watch and tell me if you see anyone coming."
The driver was about to enter the orchard when the Chofetz Chaim shouted, "He's watching! He's watching!"
Terrified, the wagon driver ran back to the coach as fast as he could. Out of breath, he looked all around him, afraid of being spotted by the observer. But there was not a soul in sight.
"You lied to me!" he yelled at the Chofetz Chaim. "There's no one here!"
"Of course there is," he replied. "God is always watching. He sees everything."
The greatest enemy we all face is our own yetzer hara, our evil inclination who never lets up until the day we die. Chovos Halevavos writes: “[The yetzer hara] lies in wait to entice you at your every step. You are unaware of it, but it is aware of you; you are unmindful of it, but it is mindful of you… it will not let you alone until it has destroyed you… Therefore, let no other struggle divert you from your struggle with it” (Shaar Yichud HaMa’aseh, Chapter 5).
The yetzer hara is constantly confusing us and tempting us to transgress, and what makes matters worse is that we do not even realize that we are under attack. It can defeat us before we realize we are in the midst of a struggle. Without fear of God we do not stand a chance of defeating him.
This is another reason why fear of God is so critical. It puts us on high alert and wakes us up to the insidious dangers of the yetzer hara, enabling us to fend off his attack and defeat him. The moment we let our guard down, the yetzer hara is infiltrating and ready to pounce.
Particularly in today’s world, when our computers and smartphones position us one click away from the yetzer hara’s nuclear arsenal, it is patently clear that living with yirat Shamayim is a matter of life and death. We cannot survive spiritually without it.
Serving Hashem out of fear is not the ideal, however. The appropriate motivation for serving Hashem is that it is our honor and privilege to do the will of God, as the Rambam writes (Hilchos Teshuvah 10:1):
A person should not say: "I will fulfill the mitzvot of the Torah and occupy myself with its wisdom in order to receive all the blessings contained within it, or in order to merit the life of the World to Come. Similarly, I will separate myself from all the sins against which the Torah warned so that I will be saved from all the curses contained in the Torah, or so that I will not be cut off from the life of the World to Come."
It is not fitting to serve God in this manner, for a person whose service is motivated by these factors is considered one who serves out of fear. He is not on the level of the prophets or of the wise.
Serving God out of fear is inadequate, because it means we do not really understand the meaning and benefit of doing His will for its own sake. It makes us mercenaries, focusing more on the payoff we will receive than on doing the right thing.
But fear is an absolute prerequisite to serving God through love, as the Orchos Tzaddikim writes, “It is impossible for a person to reach [love of Hashem] until his awe and his fear are of Hashem. Therefore, fear always precedes love.” (Orchos Tzaddikim, Shaar Ahava)
Without first fearing God we will be enslaved by the desires of our body, caught in the vise of the yetzer hara. Fear ensures that we stay out of the quicksand, and liberates us to develop a relationship with Hashem that is built on appreciating His awesomeness. Our goal is to serve Hashem out of love, but the starting point must be fear.
God expects us to make that first step. After all, it is the one thing that is in our hands.
