Daily Tanya Tuesday 17th Nissan Chapter 41 Part 1: The necessity of arousing fear of Hashem in addition to arousing love

Chapter 41: The Divine service of lower fear and accepting the yoke of heaven

17th Nissan/(LY) 10th Nissan

1. The necessity of arousing fear of Hashem in addition to arousing love:

• Fear of G-d is the start of Divine service: One must always remember the beginning of Avoda and its root and source, which is fear of G-d.
• Love of G-d alone does not suffice: Although fear only motivates one not to transgress the commands, while love motivates one to actively perform the Mitzvos, nonetheless, it does not suffice for one to arouse only the feeling of love which leads one to perform good.
• Arousing the natural fear of G-d: At the very least, one must first arouse the natural fear of G-d which is hidden in the heart of every Jew.
• A fear to rebel against G-d: This fear is a fear against rebelling against Hashem, the King of all Kings.
• In the heart or mind: The fear is to be revealed in one’s heart or at the very least in one’s mind.

2. How does one arouse this fear-The contemplations:

• Contemplating G-d’s greatness: This natural fear is aroused through contemplating at least in one’s mind the greatness of Hashem, and His kingship which is the kingship of all worlds, the lower and higher worlds. How He fills all the worlds and encompasses all the worlds, as the verse states “The Heaven and Earth do I not fill.”
• Contemplating how G-d desires to reign specifically over the Jewish nation and the individual Jew: One is to also contemplate how Hashem left all the upper and lower worlds and designated His kingship specifically on the Jewish nation in general and on the individual Jew in particular, as every Jew is obligated to say to himself that for him the world was created.
• Accepting the reign of the king to serve Him: After the above contemplation, one is to then also accept upon himself the reign of G-d, that Hashem be king over him, and that he serves Him and fulfill his wishes in all the services done by a servant to his master.

(LY) 11th Nissan

3. Knowing of Hashem’s constant presence brings fear and acceptance of the yoke:

• Hashem Nitzav Alav: Behold, Hashem stands over a person as He fills the entire earth with His glory.
• G-d observes and judges one’s actions and feelings: Hashem contemplates the actions of the person as well as his thoughts and heart if he is serving Him properly.
• Serving G-d with this in mind: For this reason, one needs to serve Hashem with awe and fear like one who is standing before the king.
• Contemplating the above before Torah and Mitzvah performance: One is to ponder deeply into this matter and spend a lengthy amount of time on it as his mind and intellect is capable of doing, and as time permits, prior to learning Torah and performing Mitzvahs. Such as, prior to wearing the Tallis or Tefillin, he is to contemplate this matter and arouse a fear of G-d.