Yirah (יראה) — awe/fear of Heaven

Core definition

Yirah — fear, awe — is one of the two pillars of avodah alongside ahavah (love), and the indispensable foundation of all Torah and mitzvos. "One with Torah but no yiras Shamayim is like a treasurer with inner keys but no outer keys" (Rabbah bar Rav Huna); Rabbi Yannai: "woe to one with no dwelling who makes a gate" — yirah is the dwelling, Torah the gate [15799/maamar_009 :: Summary of section א]. The Mishnah in Avos states the paradox: "im ein yirah ein chochmah, im ein chochmah ein yirah" — without yirah no wisdom; without wisdom no yirah — resolved by distinguishing two levels of yirah [15799/maamar_009 :: Summary of section ג].

How the Rebbeim develop it

The two yirahs. "There are two levels of yirah — yirah tata'ah (lower) and yirah ila'ah (higher)"; and correspondingly two levels in chochmah, which is Torah. "Yirah tata'ah introduces Torah; Torah introduces yirah ila'ah" [15799/maamar_009 :: Summary of section ג].

Yirah tata'ah is kabbalas ol malchus Shamayim — the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven: "bitul hayesh (nullification of the [independent] something) — that in his actuality he is a separate thing, and he was not nullified in his actuality entirely, that there be no other will but the will of the Commander." It is the yirah "of this ayin," as in "yir'u meHavayah kol ha'aretz" — let all the earth fear Havayah — coming from hisbonenus in daas tachton: that below is yesh from ayin, that all created is from a ha'arah [31658/maamar_016 :: עב׳ 238–241; 15799/maamar_009 :: Summary of section ג]. Above, it corresponds to Malchus [31658/maamar_016 :: עב׳ 277].

Yirah ila'ah comes from hisbonenus in daas elyon — in the Ein Sof as the true Yeish — and is "bitul bimetziyus mamash," utter nullification of existence: "kula kamei kela chashiv" (all before Him as nothing). It corresponds to "Chochmah ila'ah (supernal Chochmah) of Atzilus" [15799/maamar_009 :: Summary of section ג; 31658/maamar_016 :: עב׳ 280, 430]. This is the yirah of "leyirah es Havayah" — "a yirah that is 'es Havayah,'" as in "yir'u es Havayah kedoshav" — a level of yirah nullified to shem Havayah [15799/maamar_009 :: section on "leyirah es Havayah"].

The order of avodah. "The order of the avodah: first there must be the aspect of yirah tata'ah, and through this he shall afterward come to the aspect of Chochmah, which is the aspect of yirah ila'ah" — as "b'zot yavo Aharon el ha'kodesh": "zot" is Malchus, yirah tata'ah, and "el ha'kodesh" is Chochmah. Through the chosam shoke'a (sunken seal) of yirah — the nullification of his will — they draw from above the chosam bolet (raised seal), Chochmah, yirah ila'ah — "above comprehension," bitul b'metzius [31658/maamar_016 :: עב׳ 478–484]. "The beginning is kabbalas ol malchus Shamayim — yirah tata'ah... 'Im ein chochmah ein yirah' refers to yirah ila'ah — whose vessel is chochmah"; the Zohar: "yirah tar'a le'eila'ah" — fear is the gate to enter [15799/maamar_009 :: section on "leyirah es Havayah"].

Yirah in shov. In the ratzu/shov framework, yirah is in shov (returning). The outer yirah comes from the richuk (distance) — like the talmidei chachamim's yirah "because of their loftiness and wondrousness," and the king's yirah: "every yirah and bittul from the loftiness specifically." The inner yirah comes from kiruv: contemplating that "the Or Ein Sof found below as above" — "leis asar panui mineih" (no place is devoid of Him) — in literal revelation in every place; then "done the yirah and bittul's level — nullified in his essence literally — not able to be in ratzu's level — rather being below in the mitzvos's fulfillment in po'al mamash" [15966/maamar_024 :: Summary].

Yirah and Torah. Without yirah, Torah knowledge is exploited: leniencies, "bedi'eved becomes lechatchilah," purifying a sheretz with 150 reasons. The foundation is yiras Shamayim — Torah as "devar Havayah," His wisdom; study "ke'oneh achar ha-korei," giving oneself wholly to the sugya [15799/maamar_009 :: Summary of section ב]. Torah's purpose is mitzvah observance — the supernal ratzon — and ratzon, unlike intellect (which has grades), must be fulfilled exactly as willed; hence the main study is practical halachah [58834/maamar_009 :: Chunk summary — pp. 62–63].

Key distinctions

Yirah tata'ah vs. yirah ila'ah. The lower: kabbalas ol, bitul hayesh, from daas tachton (all from a ha'arah), the aspect of Malchus — "yir'u meHavayah kol ha'aretz," accessible to all the earth. The higher: bitul bimetziyus, from daas elyon (the Ein Sof as true Yeish), the aspect of supernal Chochmah — "yir'u es Havayah kedoshav," only His holy ones [31658/maamar_016 :: עב׳ 307–325, 430–457]. "In general, these two aspects — yirah tata'ah and yirah ila'ah — are bitul hayesh and true bitul" [31658/maamar_016 :: עב׳ 457].

Outer vs. inner yirah. The outer yirah arises from distance and loftiness — the king's fear; the inner yirah from closeness — the realization that no place is devoid of Him, producing literal bitul and the return to practical mitzvah fulfillment [15966/maamar_024 :: Summary].

Yirah vs. ahavah. Ahavah is in ratzu — running, kiruv, the nefesh's ascent; yirah is in shov — returning, standing distant before the loftiness [15966/maamar_024 :: Summary].

Related concepts

Sources