Monday, November 22, 2004
AskMoses Fear of G-d
AskMoses: "What's all this business about being 'G-d fearing'?
Fear of G-d has many levels.
When we say people are G-d fearing, we normally don't mean they live in fear that G-d might punch them out for doing the wrong thing. That's a quite shallow fear of G-d.
The real meaning of G-d fearing is fear of separation from G-d - just as an infant is afraid of being left alone by its mother. So too, a healthy soul realizes that certain actions will place a barrier between herself and her Beloved One above, and so she does what she can to avoid those actions.
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman"
Fear of G-d has many levels.
When we say people are G-d fearing, we normally don't mean they live in fear that G-d might punch them out for doing the wrong thing. That's a quite shallow fear of G-d.
The real meaning of G-d fearing is fear of separation from G-d - just as an infant is afraid of being left alone by its mother. So too, a healthy soul realizes that certain actions will place a barrier between herself and her Beloved One above, and so she does what she can to avoid those actions.
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman"
