Chapter 41

In this chapter the Alter Rebbe focuses mainly on the idea of the fear of Hashem. So far, he's talked a lot about love for Hashem, But, just as a dove cannot fly with only one wing, but needs two, in the same way, our Mitzvot they do not rise to Hashem They need not only love for Him, but also fear.

But what comes first: love or fear? HashemThe Alter Rebbe calls for fear of Hashem “the beginning, the main thing, the fundamental thing”, that is, first comes the fear.

And that fear of Hashem It is so important to us, it serves not only to protect us from the Mitzvot prohibitive, but also to comply with the Mitzvot positive, as the Alter Rebbe will explain.

How does fear awaken in HashemThinking about the greatness of Hashem, Thinking about how He created the whole world, and is everywhere, and is King over all things, over all animals and all human beings, and over us as well. And He is always paying attention to everything we do, say, and think. It's as if we are always standing before a king of flesh and blood, who asks us to do something and stands beside us watching us do it. That, surely, will make us feel awe of the king. So too Hashem, He is the King of all Kings and he is watching us all the time, to see if we are doing our job well.

This idea needs to be considered before each action. Mitzvah, so that I could do it with fear of Hashem. It doesn't matter if we don't feel that fear in our hearts; it's enough to think about it (as we learned about the "Thought of the Heart" in chapter 16).

The Alter Rebbe gives an example of some Mitzvot, ...how they take on a different meaning when we think about the fear of Hashem before fulfilling them. For example, the tefillin, They are placed on the head symbolizing that we surrender our head, that is, our thoughts and capacity for wisdom, to Hashem, to think about Him and to know concepts and ideas of the Torah. The other tefillin It is placed on the arm, symbolizing that we give our heart, to feel love and fear of Hashem and not love and fear of other things (like love of work, football, etc.). Another example he gives is of tallit, Let's pay attention to how our whole body surrounds us, in the same way, Hashem He surrounds us and the whole world, and we accept Him as King.

But what if we think about all these ideas before each Mitzvah and we don't feel fear in our hearts HashemWe might come to think that our acceptance of Hashem as King over us he is worthless, but that's not the case. The Alter Rebbe explains that, as we truly want to accept Hashem as King, and at least in thought we know we should fear Hashem, And it is the nature of every Jew to fear Hashem (as explained at the end of chapter 19), our acceptance of Hashem as King is valid and is considered a “complete Service”, as if we were true servants of Hashem.

What does it mean to be a servant? What is “complete service”? A servant is a slave of his master. The Jewish people are called in the Torah “the servants of Hashem”¹, and the Torah commands the Jewish people to “serve Hashem”², This means that even if we study Torah and we fulfilled Mitzvot because we love Hashem (without fear), we are not fulfilling our duty to be servants of Hashem, And we are not doing a "Complete Service", but only halfway, with love alone, without fear.

But the Torah also calls³ to the Jewish people “children of Hashem”This means that there are two components to the service. HashemLike a servant and like a son. Generally, a servant serves his master out of fear, and a son serves his father out of love. That is why fear is necessary. Hashem still to fulfill the Mitzvot positive qualities, so that one can fulfill them also as a servant, not just a son. That is, a “complete service” means service to Hashem with love and fear of Him.

But what if we think about the ideas that awaken fear in us? Hashem in the heart or in the mind and yet nothing happens, we feel no fear of HashemWe might think that we are not servants of Hashem, But that's not the case. The Alter Rebbe explains that, like the fear of Hashem and the service to Hashem There are two Mitzvot independent, even if we serve Hashem without fear of Him, the Mitzvah to serve Hashem We fulfilled it anyway.

Furthermore, the Alter Rebbe explains that we also comply with the Mitzvah of fear of Hashem, Because, at least, we're thinking about it. Hashem As King, even though we may not feel anything in our hearts or minds, at least we are thinking that Hashem He's the King. That's a level of fear. Hashem. Something is better than nothing! (That level is called "Inferior Fear" (will go tataa), there is a higher level called “Higher Fear” (irá ilaá), the Alter Rebbe will explain this in chapter 43).

So far the Alter Rebbe has explained that one must be like a servant, fearing Hashem, and like a son, loving Hashem, whether feeling them in the heart or at least having them in mind. And he explained that this fear and love while we fulfill a Mitzvah They serve to make us feel or think about the following: not to rebel against Hashem and cling to Him and draw near to Him.

Now he will explain another idea to keep in mind when we study Torah or we comply Mitzvot: to think of the union of our soul and the souls of all the Jewish people with Hashem. In other words, just as the soul is approaching Hashem upon reaching a Mitzvah, Let us consider that all the souls of the Jewish people are drawing closer to Him. The important thing about this idea is that this drawing closer brings great satisfaction to Hashem. Furthermore, this union gives strength to the soul to be able to study more Torah and achieve more Mitzvot.

Although only the great Righteous Ones (as explained at the end of chapter 10) can truly feel this union of themselves and the rest of the souls of the Jewish people with Hashem, However, we can at least get used to thinking about this idea, because it is also what the "Hidden Love" within us desires and seeks (see chapter 19 on this last topic).

Although we are not righteous and desire the union of all the souls of the Jewish people with Hashem, At the very least, we can desire the union of our own soul with Hashem and never separate ourselves from Him, even if we must give our lives so as not to stray from Him (mesirut nefesh).

The Alter Rebbe adds that even the study of Torah, the observance of Mitzvot And prayer, are a way of “giving one’s life” for Hashem, because when a person dies, their soul is united with God all day long. Hashem thinking about the Torah And prayer, then, if we, in life, study Torah, we fulfilled Mitzvot And we pray, we are joining with Hashem, just like the soul in Paradise (gan eden).

And this should be the proper preparation before the morning blessings and the study of Torah After prayer and at any time of day: “Since You, Hashem, You gave me life and you will take it away; from this moment on, I surrender it to you and unite myself with you through my study of Torah and observance of Mitzvot”.

This surrender of life towards Hashem in the study of Torah And prayer, it has to be only to bring satisfaction to Hashem, Not with the selfish aim of uniting with Him. It is like the satisfaction a king of flesh and blood feels when he sees his only son emerge from captivity and return to him. For when the soul unites with Him, it is emerging from the exile within the body and the animal soul. And every Jew can think about this at any time and in any place, because that is the nature of the Divine Soul within every Jew.

But it's also important to set aside time to think and meditate on the greatness of Hashem to generate intellectual and heartfelt love and fear, and not be content with merely natural “hidden love,” and perhaps, one day, Hashem I want us to be able to feel it…