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Assorted Notes
Atzilut is Private Providence The Striking of Thoughts upon Man Against Your Will – 1 If There Is a Virgin Maiden The Meaning of Sins Becoming as Merits A Gentile Who Observes the Sabbath Must Die The Correction of Lines This Is the Path of Torah – 1 A Hedge for Wisdom – Silence - 1 For He Whom the Lord Loves He Admonishes - 1 The Fear of You and the Dread of You Shall Be upon All the Animals of the Earth - 1 The Whole World Is Nourished by My Son Hanina – 1 A Hand on the Throne of the Lord – 1 Thus You Shall Say to the House of Jacob Ordinances The Numbered Things of the Tabernacle – 1 Concerning the Shechina [Divinity] The Garments of the Soul - 1 Beginning to Speak from the Connection with the Creator Concerning the Will to Receive - 1 Sanctification of the Month And You, Israel Behold, I Am Setting Before You The Main Thing We Need The Summoning for the Blessing on the Food Who Will Not Lift Up the Face Three Lines – 1 The Earth Feared and Was Still The Creator Observed Their Works Turn Away from Evil and Do Good – 1 How I Love Your Teaching Man’s Greatness Is According to His Work What Is Amalek, Whose Memory We Must Blot Out TANTA [Taamim, Nekudot, Tagin, Otiot] Find Favor and a Good Mind Who Hears a Prayer Fish Means Worries The Blessing of the Torah Anyone with Whom the Spirit of the People Is Pleased – 1 Concerning Two Witnesses Raising the Hands Serve the Creator with Joy The Discernments of “Woman” and “Sons” in the Torah Ruin by Elders—Construction; Construction by Youths—Ruin Sons of Wise Disciples This Moment and the Next Moment Worse than Everyone Right, Wholeness, and Truth Our Faith in Books and Authors God Made It so that He Would Be Feared Questions in the Work A Kli [vessel] that Holds a Blessing Ani [I] and Ein [nothing/null] A Request for Help You Stand Here Today – 1 Turn Away from Evil and Do Good – 2 Woe unto You Who Await the Day of the Lord The Order of the Work The Difference between Kedusha [holiness] and Sitra Achra [other side] The Meaning of Exile The Work of the Greatest in the Nation Greeks Have Gathered Around Me The War of the Inclination What Is Handsome In the Work? Against Your Will You Live; Against Your Will You Die A Horse to Ride On A Prayer for Life and Nourishments The Degree of “Wicked” Joy and Fear All Bitter Herb [Maror] Old and New The Torah Must Be Received with Both Hands Midnight Correction Faith Above Reason Good Deeds Are Called Sons The Unification of ZON The Ruin of Kedusha [Holiness] Man Determines Nothing New Under the Sun The Meaning of “Torah Lishma [for Her sake]” From Lo Lishma to Lishma Joy that Comes from Dancing Definitions – 1 Exalt the Lord Our God Knowledge and Faith The Testimony of the Creator Upper and Lower It Is All Corrections Passion for Knowledge Suffering and Joy Faith Is Called “Action” The Desire to Bestow – 1 The Need and Importance of Teaching Faith Awakening – 1 Love of Others Colors in the Work What to Ask of the Creator—to Be His Servant Faith Within Reason How Good Are Your Tents, Jacob – 1 Man and the Torah Faith Is Regarded as Above Nature Concerning Shekalim – 1 The Greatness of the Creator Is His Humbleness Foundations The Association of the Quality of Judgment with Mercy Devotion Concerning Suffering – 1 Hochma and Hassadim Raising MAN – 1 Concerning Fear The Torah Is Acquired through Suffering Two Kinds of Repentance Three Things in the World For Your Crimes, Your Mother Was Sent Away The Meaning of Dust A Groom and a Bride Man’s Actions A Palace Run My Beloved Good Taste in Small, Corporeal Things Entry into the Work The Reason for the Faith Moses Is the Quality of Faith Am I In the Place of God? The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory Mind and Heart Discernments in States As He is merciful, So You Are Merciful Repentance Concerning Shekalim – 2 Inner Keys and Outer Keys Anyone Who Is Settled in His Wine One Learns Only Where One’s Heart Desires One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It Anyone Who Associates the Aim for the Creator with Another Thing Specifically through a Man and a Woman I Wish They Left Me and Kept My Law Why Israel Are Compared to an Olive Tree Be Mindful with a Minor Commandment as with a Major One – 1 Be Mindful with a Minor Commandment as with a Major One – 2 Be Mindful with a Minor Commandment as with a Major One – 3 I Have a Minor Mitzva [commandment], Whose Name Is Sukkah A Person Builds a Building Turning His Ear from Hearing Torah The Creator Is Meticulous with the Righteous Man and His Role One Who Restrains Himself in Strife The General Public and the Chosen Few Delight Them with a Complete Building – 2 The Meaning of Evil You Have Not a Blade of Grass Below Discernments in a Spiritual Kli [vessel] Man’s Work Prayer Concerning Equivalence of Form Happy Is the Man A Cure before the Blow Noah Was a Righteous Man Anyone with Whom the Spirit of the Creator Is Pleased Mind and Heart The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil The Lord Appeared to Him by the Oaks of Mamre How to Draw Near Him He Who Has No Sons Abraham Begot Isaac And Isaac Was Forty Years Old And Judah Approached Him – 1 And Behold, the Lord Stood Over Him Joy While Learning Torah The Way of the Land Preceded the Torah Jacob Sent Anyone Who Sanctifies the Seventh – 2 The Lord Hears the Poor When Pharaoh Sent the People This Is the Day that the Lord Has Made Hear, O Israel The Lord Your God Was Unwilling to Listen Three Prayers - 1 Save Your Servant, You, My God Your Children, Whom You Said The Counsel of the Lord Ever Stands This Day, the Lord Your God Commands You You Stand Today - 2 The Concealed Things Belong to the Lord Our God Sins Become for Him as Merits There Is Fear Only in a Place of Wholeness What Is Joy? The Ascent of Malchut to Bina The Middle Line Concerning the surrounding lights He Who Comes to Defile “Right” Means Wholeness What It Means to Bear a Son and a Daughter in the Work What Is, He Swallowed Maror [bitter herb], He Will Not Come Out, in the work? Three Lines – 3 Movement Due to Shame You Shall Tithe a Tenth Questions about “Return O Israel” Nourishment Laboring and Finding The Power of Thought The Exile of the Shechina [Divinity] Desire for Spirituality Cast Their Seed Among the Nations General Attainment and Personal Attainment Two Labors Concerning the Goal I Will Remove the Stony Heart The Act Is What Decides Righteous and Wicked The Face of the Lord Is in Evildoers The Upper One Scrutinizes for the Purpose of the Lower One Malchut of the Upper One Becomes Keter to the Lower One Why He Waited until the War Against Amalek And Jethro Heard Those of Little Faith Remember that You Were a Slave Peace at Home Overcoming The Mitzva of Sukkah Anything that the Merciful One Does, He Does for the Best Man’s Inclination Inheritance of the Land Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue By Your Actions, We Know You The Generations of Jacob Joseph If Any Man of You Brings an Offering - 1 Who Despises the Day of Smallness Branch and Root To Admonish Another Annulment - the Baal Shem Tov Way The Quality of Moses Miketz [After] There Has Never Risen a Prophet Like Moses One Who Walks along the Way Action and Thought Tzimtzum The Journeys of the Children of Israel The Measure of Overcoming Man as a Whole Two Discernments in the Kelim Inverse Relation between Lights and Vessels Merging of the Body The Difference between the Soul and the Body It Is Good to Thank the Creator Pleasure Cancels the Mind The Birth of the Moon Bo [Come] We Will Do and We Will Hear – 2 Internality and Externality The Godliness Made the Concealment The Need for Gentiles Dead Fish Turn Away from Evil and Do Good - 4 None as Holy as the Lord The Need for a Kli without Light Three Prayers - 2 Good Writing and Signing Rosh Hashanah The Rosh Hashanah Prayer With a Shofar You Will Renew An Article for Sukkot What Is Hanukah What Is the Miracle of Hanukah The Meaning of Amalek When He Let His Hand Down, Amalek Prevailed Blotting Out Amalek Revealing the Concealment Until He Does Not Know The Meal of a Wicked One His Law He Contemplates Two Opposites I and Not a Messenger Concerning the Environment The Torah Spoke Regarding Four Sons The Need for an Act from Below The More One Speaks of the Exodus from Egypt And he said, “When You Deliver the Hebrew Women” And God Spoke to Moses And I Will Take You as My People Come unto Pharaoh Behold, a People Has Come Out of Egypt The Passover Offering Concerning the Beginning of the Month Peh-Sah [speaking mouth] The First Innovation Concerning the Exodus from Egypt The Duty to Tell the Story of the Exodus from Egypt Concerning the Matza [unleavened bread] The Time of Redemption Questions for the Exodus from Egypt Concerning the Omer [Count] The Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah The Point in the Heart The Ninth of Av

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Kabbalah Library Home / Rabash / Assorted Notes / Anyone in Whom There Is Fear of Heaven – 1

250- Anyone in Whom There Is Fear of Heaven – 1

“Rabbi Helbo said, ‘Rabbi Huna said, ‘Anyone in whom there is fear of heaven, his words are heard,’ as was said, ‘In the end, all is heard, fear God and observe His commandments, for this is the whole of man’’” (Berachot 6b).

We could question this, since we have seen many great sages in Israel whose words were not heard. Also, what evidence is there from the words, “In the end”?

We should interpret his words, that the verse refers to the individual himself, that if one sees that his organs are disobeying him, and the more he engages in Torah and work, he is still standing in his previous condition and did not move one bit for the better, our sages make him understand the reason for this.

This is only because he lacks the fear of heaven. That is, when he has fear of heaven, all his organs will obey him.

This is implied in the words, “In the end,” since the body is called “the end of the matter,” since it is a boundary, as in, “In the end, man will die.” Conversely, on the spiritual, there is no end. This is the meaning of the words, “In the end, all is heard,” meaning that in the end he will be heard. That is, his organs will obey him when he has fear of heaven. This is the meaning of “Fear God,” and then you will be rewarded with everything being heard.

“When Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai fell ill, his disciples came to see him. They said to him, ‘Our teacher, bless us.’ He replied, ‘May the fear of heaven be upon you as the fear of flesh and blood.’ They said to him, ‘Our teacher, thus far.’ He said to them, ‘I wish. Know that when one commits a transgression, he says, ‘May no person see me’’” (Berachot 28b).

We should ask, What was their question, which they did not understand to the point that they did not settle for the blessing he had blessed them? Also, what did they understand better through the allegory of a person who commits a transgression, so that through the allegory they agreed and understood that this blessing was sufficient and they did not need a greater blessing? Also, we should understand the meaning of the words “Know” and “thus far.”

Baal HaSulam said that there are two kinds of fear: 1) fear of sin, 2) fear of heaven.

This means that there is a person who observes Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] because of the fear of sin, meaning that otherwise he might come to sin. Sometimes, a person is no longer afraid that he might sin because he has already cleansed his practices to make them all for the sake of the Creator, yet he observes Torah and Mitzvot because of “heaven,” meaning because of the King’s commandment, because this is His will, and this is why he observes everything.

“Fear of sin” means that he is observing everything only for his own sake, that the reason is for himself. “Fear of heaven” means that the reason is the Creator, that he observes Torah and Mitzvot because this is the Creator’s will.

When one observes Torah and Mitzvot only for the sake of the Creator, it is difficult to observe the Torah and Mitzvot because he does not understand the necessity of the matter, as King Solomon said, “Will not do more, etc., I will do more, etc.”

By this we can interpret the above words that they said to him, “Thus far.” This means that they thought that he was telling them that they would have the fear of heaven such as the fear of flesh and blood, that their fear of heaven will be as the fear of flesh and blood, meaning the fear of sin, since observing Torah and Mitzvot is for one’s own purposes, so he will not sin.

It is about this that they asked, “Thus far,” meaning that it is impossible to achieve a higher degree. To this he replied to them with an allegory that if a person commits a transgression, he says, “May no person see me.” He is afraid that if someone sees him, he might turn him over to the authorities, so his fear is so strong that he will not transgress if someone sees.

This is why Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai said to them, “Know that my intention is the inner meaning of the words, for by blessing you, ‘May the fear of heaven be upon you as the fear of flesh and blood,’ this is a high degree.”

He said to them, “May you achieve this,” and he meant that they would have the fear of heaven, that observing Torah and Mitzvot will be only for the sake of the Creator, and for themselves, they will have no fear that they might sin, and they will be sure of themselves that there is no possibility to sin.

And the reason you observe Torah and Mitzvot is only for the sake of the Creator, for such is the will of the Creator. Yet, this fear of heaven is akin to the fear of flesh and blood.

This means that as with fear of flesh and blood, we know very well that we must guard and be strict in many ways not to go one moment without fear, for you are standing guard without any allowances. Rather, you are strict in every manner that concerns the fear of flesh and blood. Likewise, with fear of heaven, you will have this fear that you will not go one moment without this fear.

This is the “May you,” meaning it is a very high degree that all the fear will be because of the Creator, and yet the fear and observing will be as with the fear of flesh and blood.