From chapter 41 to here, the Alter Rebbe explained the concept of the fear of Hashem. But there isn't just one level of fear, there are two. “Lower fear” (ira tataá) and “Superior Fear” (irá ilaáIn turn, each of these levels is expressed in different ways, depending on our particular qualities and the concepts we think about to awaken them.
The “Inferior Fear” is awakened by thinking about the greatness of Hashem, ...in how He fills all worlds. If the universe around us is so vast, Hashem, which is the life force of that universe, is even greater. This level of fear is called lower because it arises from the “clothing” of Hashem, That is, to look around us and think that Hashem He gives life to all things, but He Himself is hidden behind the world we see, just as the soul is hidden within the body and the body is like a "garment" for the soul. This level of awe motivates us to fulfill the Mitzvot and study Torah.
The “Higher Fear” arises from thinking about how Hashem It is the life of all things. What is important at this level is not things, but Hashem himself, giving life to everything. The Alter Rebbe explained in chapters 20 and 21 that, in reality, the entire universe is insignificant compared to Hashem, It's something so small it's as if it doesn't exist, and he also explained that everything is created by the word of Hashem, which, in turn, is insignificant compared to Hashem Likewise, just as one of our words is insignificant compared to our capacity to speak. This level of fear generates a very deep shame, knowing that we are very, very small in comparison. Hashem, as insignificant as the rest of creation.
However, the Alter Rebbe explains, one cannot reach "Higher Fear" without first passing through "Lower Fear," which, in turn, leads us to fulfill the Mitzvot and study Torah. In other words, there's an order: first, we think about Hashem to fear Him and to come to fulfill the Mitzvot. Then we continued thinking about Hashem, But not so much in the world that He constantly creates, but in how that world is nothing compared to Him, and thus we come to the “Higher Fear”.
Now the Alter Rebbe explains that just as there are two levels of fear of Hashem, There are also two levels of love for Hashem: “Love that arises from the world” (ahavat olam) and “Deep Love” (ahava raba).
“Deep love” is like a flame within us that gives us the sensation of feeling immense pleasure in Hashem. But we only get to have it when Hashem He gives it to us, after having gone through the other levels of "Lower Fear", observance of Mitzvot and “Higher Fear”.
But the “Love that springs from the world” is awakened through meditation (to meditate means to pause and think about a matter for an uninterrupted period of time): when we think about the greatness of Hashem, who fills all worlds, and is superior to worlds, even more, the whole world is insignificant compared to Him, a feeling of love will awaken within us Hashem (which is called a “Love that arises from the world” because it is awakened by thinking about the world around us and how Hashem It fills it, etc.) which will make us want nothing else in the world except Hashem. In other words, if we used to like sports (the fact that we like something means that we have a certain appreciation for it, that we love it to a certain extent), the "Love that arises from the world" will slowly change that love for sports into love for Hashem.
The Alter Rebbe now pauses to consider a question: What comes first, “lower fear” or “love that springs from the world”? When we begin to serve Hashem, There is an order we must follow. The Alter Rebbe says that, in general, first comes the "lower fear," which leads us to fulfill the Mitzvot, Then comes "Love that arises from the world," then "Higher Fear," and finally, if Hashem He decides to give it to us, “Deep Love.”.
(The Alter Rebbe clarifies that in certain very special cases the opposite can happen, that first comes “Love that arises from the world,” when the person, after being very far removed from Hashem, remembers Hashem, and how He is important, and creates and gives life to all things, etc., then He approaches Hashem motivated by “Love that arises from the world”).
Toda Rab