1:4:8<\/p>\n
The class can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n What we all need to bolster is our love and fear of G-d [1]. We do that initially by reflecting on His great loftiness versus our own terrible lowliness, and by surrendering ourselves to Him accordingly and being abashed before Him. And then we\u2019re to long to be among those who serve Him, and to sing praises to His exaltedness [2].<\/p>\n Those are very potent ways of drawing close to Him and of cleansing the murkiness of our physicality as well as of allowing the soul to shine [3]. They elevate you step by step to the point where you draw close to Him [4].<\/p>\n Notes:<\/p>\n [1]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is, besides infusing our directly mitzvah-related and everyday tasks with the conscious will to draw close to G-d (as spoken of above), we\u2019re to go about that in a certain spirit — that of the love and fear of Him.<\/p>\n [2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We foster — and bolster — the love and fear of G-d this way, as Ramchal lays it out. We begin by ruminating upon the essential, profound, and unfathomable difference between humankind and G-d Himself, and as a result of that realization we just naturally surrender ourselves to Him in love<\/em> and are bashed in His presence in awe and fear<\/em> given that He has encouraged us to draw close to Him. And we very humbly long for nothing more than to be His servants and devotees.<\/p>\n See 4:3:1 below as well as Hilchot<\/em> Teshuvah<\/em> 10:1-3 and Yesodei<\/em> HaTorah<\/em> 2:1-2.<\/p>\n [3]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s to say that not only are these good means of drawing close to Him as we\u2019d discussed, but they\u2019re also good means of enabling our souls to undo any impediments to that closeness.<\/p>\n [4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ramchal combines love with fear here rather than delving into both separately and in greater detail. He does do the latter in Messilat<\/em> Yesharim<\/em>, though, so we\u2019ll cite from that work now to illustrate the point.<\/p>\n In short, \u201cloving\u201d and \u201cfearing\u201d G-d comes to having an intense and emotional relationship with Him that\u2019s expressed either by an ardent yearning for Him, or a stunned dread of Him.<\/p>\n But it turns out that there are two sorts of love and two sorts of fear. A \u201clower\u201d and \u201chigher\u201d one, depending on the intensity involved. The lower sort of love of G-d would entail your wanting to make Him \u201cproud\u201d of you much the way we\u2019d like our parents to be proud of us. As such the person expressing that sort of love \u201cwould act as a loving son would to his father and would do more than his father would ask for.\u201d He\u2019d even do things \u201chis father only unobtrusively hinted at\u201d rather than asked for straight out. And \u201che\u2019d deduce that such-and-such — something beyond what he was told — would make his father happy\u201d and set out to do just that (Ch. 18).<\/p>\n Thus, one who loves G-d this way would go beyond the common expectations of a devotee, and would want nothing better than to please G-d. This sort of love of G-d is rooted in respect and admiration.<\/p>\n The higher sort of love for G-d is depicted in more romantic, quickened terms. One enjoying it would \u201cliterally desire and long for closeness to G-d\u201d and \u201cpursue\u201d Him much the way \u201cone would pursue anything\u201d or anyone \u201che longed for\u201d. It\u2019s said that \u201ceven the mere mentioning of His name, enunciating of His praises, and being occupied in His mitzvot and G-dliness would become a treat and delight\u201d to such a person (Ch. 19).<\/p>\n The lower sort of fear of G-d is marked by the feeling of dismay at going against His wishes because of the possible repercussions. It\u2019s very easy to come by this sort of fear since \u201ceverybody has an instinct for self-preservation\u201d and because, after all, \u201cthere\u2019s nothing more likely to keep you away from doing something harmful to yourself than the fear of injurious consequences\u201d (Ch. 24). Nonetheless, this sort of fear doesn\u2019t befit intelligent and inquisitive spiritual seekers, we\u2019re told, as it\u2019s rather primitive.<\/p>\n The second, higher sort of fear (or \u201cawe\u201d) is referred to as \u201creverence for G-d’s Grandeur\u201d. It\u2019s rooted in the realization of two truisms: \u201cthat G-d’s Presence is found everywhere and that He involves Himself in everything, great and small\u201c; in the teeming appreciation of the fact that \u201cnothing is hidden from G-d, either …\u00a0 great or small, scant or imposing\u201d; and in the idea that \u201cwherever you are, you stand in His Presence\u201d (Ch. 25).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (c) 2014 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n ———————————————————-<\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1:4:8 The class can be found here. What we all need to bolster is our love and fear of G-d [1]. We do that initially by reflecting on His great loftiness versus our own terrible lowliness, and by surrendering ourselves … Continue reading