The following is an excerpt from the Alter Rebbe’s chapter 41 in Tanya and relates to footnote לו:
“One must, however, constantly bear in mind what is the beginning of Divine service, as well as its core and root. This means: Although fear is [the root of] “turn away from evil” and love is [the root of] “do good,” I.e., fear of HaShem is what basically urges one to refrain from evil and not to transgress the negative precepts, while love of HaShem is what basically motivates one to perform good deeds and positive commands, nevertheless, it is not sufficient to awaken the love alone to “do good,” but at the very least, before performing the positive command, one must first arouse the innate fear which lies hidden in the heart of every Jew not to rebel against the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, as has been stated above, so that [this fear] should manifest itself in his heart or, at least, in his mind. Optimally, a Jew should be able to create a feeling of fear in his heart through meditating upon HaShem’s greatness. If, however, this proves to be beyond his capacity, he should at least arouse the innate fear which lies hidden in his heart. This degree of fear is attainable to all, inasmuch as it does not require such profound meditation. This innate fear may be aroused either (a) to such a degree that it is actually felt in his heart, or (b), if the individual is incapable of evoking palpable fear in his heart, he will at least be able to summon up his innate fear in his mind, so that he will be able to apprehend and experience the fear of HaShem intellectually. This means that in order to arouse within himself the latter category of fear he should at least contemplate in his mind the greatness of the Blessed Ein Sof and His Kingship, To arouse the former category of fear, that which is palpably felt in the heart, one must engage one’s ‘Daas’ in profound meditation. He who is unable to do so should contemplate, at least superficially, HaShem’s greatness: which extends to all worlds, both higher and lower, bearing in mind that the greater the king’s dominion, the more awe it inspires in his subjects; and let him further consider that “He fills all worlds,” animating them with an indwelling life-force that created beings can experience and comprehend, “and encompasses all worlds,” i.e., He also animates them with a life-force that transcends the experience and comprehension of created beings, as it is written: “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” Yet He leaves aside [the creatures of] the higher [worlds] and [the creatures of] the lower [worlds], Neither the higher nor the lower creatures represent the Creator’s ultimate intention. He therefore does not bestow His Kingship upon them, so that He be called their HaShem and King; rather: He uniquely bestows His Kingship upon His people Israel, in general — for G d is known as “King of Israel” — and upon him in particular, for a man is obliged to say: “For my sake was the world created.” A Jew should remind himself that the whole purpose and intent of creation, viz., HaShem’s Sovereignty, relates to himself specifically, that HaShem become King over him. This is no mere hyperbole. Since the Jewish people collectively constitute a complete body comprised of individual organs, it follows that if even one Jew — one particular organ — is blemished, then the whole body, even the head, is blemished as well. Similarly, with regard to HaShem’s bestowing His Kingship upon all of Israel: if one solitary Jew is found wanting in this matter, this will affect the whole body of the Jewish people. The realization that HaShem bestows His Kingship upon each individual in particular touches a responsive chord within one; he is then more apt to demand of himself that he accept the heavenly yoke. And he for his part accepts His Kingship upon himself, that He be King over him, to serve Him and do His Will in all kinds of servile work. This acceptance of the yoke of Divine service is required of all Jews.
