אוצר של יראת שמים
ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלוקיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה וגו' (י: יב)
In this pasuk, משה רבינו is relaying to the Yidden the mitzvah of יראת שמים, commanding them to fear Hashem. חז"ל stress the vital importance of having Yiras Shamayim, by comparing one who is lacking in it to a person who was given the keys to the inner chambers but not to outer ones. So too, although one might be learned and familiar as to how best to perform the mitzvos, which is what Chazal regard as the key to the outer chamber, with no יראת שמים, which is compared to the key of the inner chamber, he will not give proper attention to performing the Mitzvos correctly. Conversely, one who has obtained fear of Heaven will adhere to the Torah and Mitzvos with reverent awe and zeal, as is appropriate.
The גמרא continues, by quoting Rabi Yanai, who exclaimed: "Woe unto one who has no courtyard, but still makes for himself a gate [through which to go in to the courtyard]". So too, Torah on its own without יראת שמים is ineffective. Because, while Torah it is crucial for our very existence, in a sense, it is only a means through which to acquire fear of Heaven. Therefore, as long as one has not toiled to attain Yiras Shamayim, he will not gain fully from his Torah learning.
Bil'ams Blunder
An ideal example that demonstrates the crucial necessity of the aforementioned is Bil'am. Chazal tell us that his level of נבואה, prophecy, was the same as, lehavdil, Moshe Rabeinu. Furthermore, Bil'am was able to calculate the exact second of Hashems wrath. Still, we find that he didn't obey Hashem's repeated command not to curse the Yidden. In fact, even after the מלאך obstructed his path to prevent him from going, and explicitly warned him to say only that which Hashem will instruct him to, בלעם still went, hoping there would be a moment that he could 'deceive' Hkb"h, and curse Klal Yisroel. One may wonder, how is it that someone who achieved such great levels of prophecy, would stoop so low, leading him to eventually lose his portion in the World to come?
Though, according to what we discussed above we could explain this as follows. True, בלעם merited to achieve a high level of spiritual greatness, and was indeed 'on par' with Moshe Rabeinu. However, he was still very much an ordinary gentile, completely devoid of יראת שמים or any connection to it. Hence, despite his greatness he was still controlled by his evil inclination to go against the word of Hashem, even scheming to eradicate an entire people. It was perhaps this lack of Yiras Shamayim which led him astray, ultimately bringing about his downfall.
This underscores the critical importance for one to attain Yiras Shamayim even though he is meticulous in learning Torah and performing mitzvos. For, we can see quite clearly how one's evil, spiritual dark side could cause him to stumble and fall to the lowest levels, despite one's lofty levels.
The Gemorah in Maseches Shabbos states further, that Hashem created the world only so that people should be able to fear Him. As the pasuk says in Koheles, "והאלוקים עשה שייראו מלפניו", and Hashem made so that people should fear him. The Gemorah explains this to be referring to the purpose of creating the world. According to this, שלמה המלך is revealing to us that a primary objective of Hashem creating the world was for us human beings to fear Him (שבת דף ל"א עמוד ב').
Chazal also teach that, while in all matters one could merit Divine assistance, when it comes to the issue of Yiras Shamayim, one must work on his own to achieve it (ברכות דף ל"ג:). Naturally, the question that would arise immediately is, how does one attain proper יראת שמים?
The Rambam in his יד החזקה writes the following: "והיאך היא הדרך לאהבתו ויראתו" what is the method to achieve fear of Hashem? "בשעה שיתבונן האדם במעשיו וברואיו הנפלאים ויראה מהם חכמתו שאין לה ערך ולא קץ... מיד הוא נרתע לאחוריו ויפחד, ויודע שהוא בריה קטנה שפילה אפילה עומדת בדעת קלה מעוטה לפני תמים דעות", When man will contemplate Hashem's wonderous workings and creations and through them he will come to appreciate His boundless, infinite wisdom, the person is immediately taken aback and filled with fear and trepidation, realizing that he is merely a minor, insignificant creation with limited perception before the One who knows the thoughts of all minds.
In other words, the way to attain יראת שמים is by observing the נפלאות הבורא - Hashem's wonderous creations and appreciating our beautiful world. In addition, the Seforim Hakedoshim tell us that while one must work 'on his own' to attain Yiras Shamayim, he can daven for סייעתא דשמיא, that he should merit Divine assistance to help him achieve his goal.
This does not contradict what Chazal say that attaining Yiras Shamayim is only up to oneself. As the חתם סופר explains that here חז"ל refers to the initial longing to attain Yiras Shamayim, of which the choice lies in the hands of the individual himself to make. Nonetheless, one can however pray for Divine assistance to help him get there (חתם סופר עקב עמוד ל"ח ד"ה ואמרת).
An Ounce of Prevention
The ספר החינוך offers a very simple, logical explanation to this Mitzvah. Being that man is, unfortunately, led astray by the יצר הרע, and is often almost unable to suppress it, thus, the Torah provides us with the ultimate technique to overcome our natural tendency to sin. Namely, the only way to resist temptation is by fearing Hashem, either due to His exaltedness, or because we fear the negative result, meaning we are afraid of punishment (ספר החינוך מצוה תל"ב). This is in line with what Chazal teach - that the way for man to win over the Yetzer Horah is through Torah study. Since, as mentioned above, one must attain some level of יראת שמים in order to learn Torah properly.
For Reward
Other ראשונים suggest a different approach. They explain that Hashem has given us the mitzvah of יראת שמים for our benefit. Since, as the pasuk continues "הן לה' אלוקיך השמים ושמי השמים הארץ וכל אשר בה", behold to Hashem your G-d is all of the heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Hence, there is nothing Hashem stands to 'gain' through us fearing Him. Though, the reason He is commanding you to fear Him is ultimately for your benefit, since you will be rewarded for it (רש"י, רמב"ן, דעת זקנים מבעלי התוס').
Perhaps this could be understood in the following manner: The ספרי הקדושים tell us that the reason Hashem created the world is since He wanted to reward us and "דרך הטוב להיטיב", it is the practice of a good One to do good. This idea is demonstrated by the fundamental Mitzvah of Yiras Shamayim. It teaches us that Hakodosh Boruch Hu, in His infinite Kindness and benevolence, often gives us Mitzvos of which a primary intention is to benefit us, by reward.
A Valued Item
Chazal tell us "אין לו להקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו אלא אוצר של יראת שמים", the only thing, so to speak, that Hashem has in His world is a treasure house of Yiras Shamayim. This seems to be quite a puzzling statement, since, as we know, the entire world and everything in it belongs to Hashem. Furthermore, there are myriad angels in heaven who sing Hashem's praises and follow His command. They are much loftier and more sublime than us humans. Accordingly, the glorification that they bring to Hashem is surely beyond anything we could ever fathom. If so, what does the גמרא mean when it states that all Hashem has is this world is a treasure house of Yiras Shamayin? After all isn't the praise of the מלאכים much greater and more valuable than that?
The עונג יום טוב sheds light onto these enigmatic words, by suggesting the following penetrating insight: the term 'fear' implies that there is a possibility of wrong which the individual is afraid of doing. This only applies to human beings who are likely to sin, which, as we know, is going against the will of Hashem. Angels, on the other other hand, have no such option, since their experience of the Divine is much more 'real'. This is due to the fact that their entire existence, by definition, is more sublime and spiritual. As a result, it is not possible for them to stumble. Hence, there is something beloved and cherished by הקב"ה - in a way more so than all the praise and honor that the angels bestow upon Him. Since, the only thing which could hold a person back from doing wrong, is his Yiras Shamayim, his fear of Heaven. That is the יראת שמים that one has. For, since his perception of the Divine is very limited, he is more liable to sin. Therefore, in order for a person to keep himself from transgressing an עבירה, one must fear Heaven. Thus, 'all that Hashem has in this world', is indeed a treasure house of Yiras Shamayim, since it is only humans who are fearful of going against the will of Hashem because of their Yetzer Hora.
More than Praise from Angels
The Ohr Hachaim Hahkadosh applies the same theme to explain a pasuk in the Torah. In Parshas Korach, משה רבינו beseeches Hashem to spare קרח and his followers from dying. Moshe said "אלוקי הרוחות לכל בשר", G-d of the spirit of all Flesh. Why did he choose to express himself specifically with this novel phrase, which is not commonly used? The אור החיים explains that there are several levels of נחת רוח that Hashem has from the various categories of creations. At the lowest rank is the pleasure He has from the song of the Malochim. Next, is the delight that Hashem derives from the praise from the neshamos of tzadikim in Gan Eden. Yet, all this does not come close to the pleasure He has from the glory which the people on this world bestow upon Him. Hakadosh Baruch Hu rejoices with the שירות ותשבחות of man on earth far more than with the praise from the מלאכים and souls in heaven. Hence, Moshe Rabeinu was pleading with Hashem not to punish Korach by means of an untimely death, since he could bring Him much more glory while still in the flesh, down on earth (אור החיים במדבר ט"ז כ"ב).
We see from here a very powerful, fundamental lesson. It is indeed true that Hashem delights immensely from song and praise of the Malochim. However, this pales in comparison, to the great joy and pleasure He has from us humans down Below. For, although the angels are lofty spiritual beings, they do not face the challenges we do. They have no יצר הרע enticing them to go against Hashem's will. We, on the other hand, are constantly battling the many temptations and desires we are confronted with. It is this continuous struggle with the Yetzer Hora that brings Hashem the greatest nachas ruach of all.
Achieving Yirah through Brachos
We find in חז"ל two observations on the pasuk "ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלוקיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה את ה' ", and now Yisroel, what does Hashem ask of you? Nothing, but to fear Him. The Torah seems to indicate that יראת שמים is easy to attain. However, Chazal wonder "is fear of Hashem really a trivial matter"?! We see that it takes a lot of work and effort to reach any level of Yirah. Why, then, does the Torah write it in a way that seems to suggest that it's an insignificant matter? The Gemorah answers on this that it was written this way, since it was easy for Moshe Rabeinu to attain Yiras Shamayim (since משה רבינו was able to attain Yiras Shamayim with little effort). The meforshim offer a wide range of ideas to explain this answer (ברכות דף ל"ג:).
Elsewhere, Chazal see in this pasuk a reference to the מצוה of reciting 100 brachos each day. As the Gemorah comments "אל תיקרי מה אלא מאה", add the letter alef (א) to the word מה so that it reads מאה - one hundred - alluding to the מאה ברכות. The Maharsha joins these two Gemorahs in the following manner: He suggests that 'changing' the word מה could also answer the question of "אטו יראה מילתא זוטרתי היא", is Yiras Shamayim indeed a simple matter? For, יראת שמים is certainly no small issue. Nevertheless, being meticulous to recite the מאה ברכות, could help one attain Yiras Shamayim, making the process easier and simpler. And, as mentioned above, the Rambam suggests another method to acquire Yiras Shamayim is by observing the wonders of creation in the beautiful world around us.
Let us hope and pray that we merit Divine assistance to help us reach our spiritual goals, and that we bring much Nachas Ruach to Hashem, Who will indeed take pride and pleasure in our Avodas Hashem.
גוט שבת