Fear of God

The fear of God is the deepest wisdom, based upon the most profound view of the world. [The fear of God] provides a deep foundation to every field of knowledge and every teaching, whether holy or secular. The secular itself must, when it seeks the fundamental depth, come to this conclusion: as long as the fear of God does not provide the basis of the field of knowledge, it is merely skating upon the outer surface of concepts—which are in truth not wisdom at all.

Musar Avichah, Yirah I

Within the depth of our soul, we can envision the source of the awe of God, because of the wondrous blend of two opposites pertaining to divine providence: a lack of complete knowledge regarding the character of the Divine, and an assured knowledge of that perfect Being. The wondrous mixture of these two magnificent opposites is exceedingly awesome.

It is necessary that there be a lack of knowledge. Due to the obscurity within human awareness, our knowledge obscures the known even as it clarifies it. The essence of life is the relationship of the Divine with existence. This relationship is enclosed within a hidden knowledge that can only be comprehended by the most hidden will of the heart.

Musar Avichah, Yirah 2

In every clash, whether physical or spiritual, we experience light and its vessel: the soul and body. In accordance with the clarity of our understanding and the purity of our will, so does light shine upon us from the vessel. Our soul shines from our body.

When our thoughts tumble over one another, there is one universal treasury: the fear of God, the fear of punishment and an ordinary trepidation. This constitutes the floor of that tabernacle of faith that stretches out to rectify the world. Then, in accordance with the clarity of our understanding and the holiness of our acts and our spirit, our soul is revealed: our soul, which is the crown of all spiritual ideals, of the glory of honor and of the awe of God's greatness. It is the stronghold of love. It is the source of the streams of all idealistic yearnings, mighty in their desire, which rise higher and higher to the most elevated worlds.

Orot Hakodesh IV, p. 420