Fear, Awe & Wonder Of G-d.

Fear of G-d is a very liberating Mitzvah.

Two forces set the stage for our act upon this earth: Love and fear. With love, we set our goals. With fear, we set our boundaries. One who fears failure is bound to take no risks. One who fears others is banished from his own self. One who fears life has no room to breathe.

The Torah liberates us by declaring there is only one thing to fear—not failure, not others, not even death itself. The only thing to fear is the One who stands beyond and within all things, the one we call G-d.

It may be a simple fear that, "If I do those things He does not like, the consequences will not be good." Or—fear is the fear of separation from G-d, as a small child who is afraid to be separated from his parents. Or for those who ponder G-d's infinite greatness and the wonders of His creation, fear is a sense of awe and amazement, taking life up to a whole new level.

Sometimes it's "awe", sometimes "wonder." In all these forms of fear, however, there is one common thread: The awareness of a reality beyond our own that defines and determines all we do. Love is a commentary on the nature of the one who loves, whereas fear, awe and wonder are exclusively about the One who is feared.

And if we don't have that sense of wonder, awe, or fear. We can make time each day to ponder our relationship with G-d, to become acutely aware of His awesome and loving presence. Once that awareness finds a fixed place in our heart, all we do will fall in place, with joy and pleasure. We will be free!