Rabbi Nitai Kaduri • Love and Fear of God: How Do You Reach That Level?

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Musayof Synagogue’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

Only good news, salvations, and consolations. Our great Rabbi, Maimonides, the Great Eagle, says in the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, that the honored and awesome God is to be loved and feared. As it is said, "You shall love the Lord your God and you shall fear the Lord your God." The Holy Zohar says: A commandment precedes the one who performs it. First of all, to know He who spoke and the world came to be, and to instill His love in our hearts. Thus, we see that both are necessary. Every commandment, everything, the Zohar says, that has neither love nor fear in it, does not ascend. The initial check for any commandment of a person, any act of yours, is how much fear is within it. How much love. That is the first threshold. If it has fear, if it has love, excellent; pass it on, proceed to the next, now we can begin to evaluate it. But for me, it doesn't rise at all. It has no wings whatsoever. Maimonides says: And if so, the question of all questions is—how does one attain this love? If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, they would utterly despise him. How do we reach this love? How do we reach this fear? Maimonides says: When a person observes His wonderful and great deeds and creatures, he will see from them His wisdom, which has no value and no end. Maimonides says: Do you know how it is possible to attain this love? Start observing, start lifting your eyes and looking at how manifold are Your works, O Lord, what wonders!

Jump to a moment

1. 0:00Only good news, salvations, and consolations. Our great Rabbi, Maimonides, the Great Eagle, says in the…
2. 2:38person will have no fear and love except through the knowledge of God’s creations. Some are…
3. 5:50?" Forgive me, Rabbis, forgive me. Forgive me, Rabbis, we didn't hear— what power of concentration,…
4. 9:05evening and morning, evening and morning—that's four times you merit saying "Bless the Lord, O my…
5. 12:19for the ibex." The ibex is found in the mountains. It doesn’t say the mountains are…
6. 15:27There was a great need for it. Furthermore, says the Ramban, most people will not know…
7. 18:09that it died on its own, died because of the work, Right? We didn't go into…
8. 21:19Abudraham says: You should know, I made you a brain, and that is where your peace…
9. 24:32even in the lowest of places, I am with you. In the Asher Yatzar blessing, as…
10. 27:51must take these matters to heart before we come with a list of demands and complaints.…

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