Standing at Sinai Receiving the Torah with Love and/or Fear

(1) On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the land of Egypt, on that very day, they entered the wilderness of Sinai. (2) Having journeyed from Rephidim, they entered the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the wilderness. Israel encamped there in front of the mountain,

(3) and Moses went up to God. The Eternal called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and declare to the children of Israel:

(4) ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me. (5) Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, (6) but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

(7) Moses came and summoned the elders of the people and put before them all that the Eternal had commanded him. (8) All the people answered as one, saying, “All that the Eternal has spoken we will do!”

And Moses brought back the people’s words to the Eternal. (9) And the Eternal said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.”

Then Moses reported the people’s words to the Eternal, (10) and the Eternal said to Moses, “Go to the people and warn them to stay pure today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothes. (11) Let them be ready for the third day; for on the third day the Eternal will come down, in the sight of all the people, on Mount Sinai. (12) You shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, ‘Beware of going up the mountain or touching the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death: (13) no hand shall touch him, but he shall be either stoned or shot; beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain.”

(14) Moses came down from the mountain to the people and warned the people to stay pure, and they washed their clothes. (15) And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day: do not go near a woman.”

(16) On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. (17) Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

(18) Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Eternal had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. (19) The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder.

(20) The Eternal came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and the Eternal called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up.

(21) The Eternal said to Moses, “Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Eternal to gaze, lest many of them perish. (22) The priests also, who come near the Eternal, must stay pure, lest the Eternal break out against them.” (23) But Moses said to the Eternal, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain and sanctify it.’” (24) So the Eternal said to him, “Go down, and come back together with Aaron; but let not the priests or the people break through to come up to the Eternal, lest He break out against them.” (25) And Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

(15) All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. (16) “You speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” (17) Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of God may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.”

(18) So the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was. (19) The Eternal said to Moses: Thus shall you say to the Israelites: You yourselves saw that I spoke to you from the very heavens: (20) With Me, therefore, you shall not make any gods of silver, nor shall you make for yourselves any gods of gold.

(5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. (7) Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; (9) inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Gemara cites additional homiletic interpretations on the topic of the revelation at Sinai. The Torah says, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a substantial caveat to the obligation to fulfill the Torah. The Jewish people can claim that they were coerced into accepting the Torah, and it is therefore not binding. Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it willingly in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them” (Esther 9:27), and he taught: The Jews ordained what they had already taken upon themselves through coercion at Sinai.

Moses made a covenant with Israel about the Torah, and the commandments, and the made them take an oath on that. And in chapter "These are said" (Sota 37b): They accepted all of the Torah on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval. Rabbenu Tam said about this verse that God was like a compassionate husband, but in the days of Achashverosh, Israel accepted them out of the love from the miracle, and what Joshua did with them to serve God. Then they did only accepted to not worship other gods, as it is written: Far be it from us to abandon the Eternal (Joshua 24). And that was the meaning of the entire topic.

(2) The one who serves God out of love, engages themself in the study of the Torah and the observance of precepts and follows the paths of wisdom on no account in the world, neither for fear of evil nor in order to inherit the good; but they do the true thing because it is true, and in the end the good comes because thereof.

That degree is a great degree, indeed and not every scholar attains it; for such was the degree of Abraham our father, whom the Holy Bountiful One called God's beloved, because he only worshiped out of love, and it is, furthermore, the degree concerning which the Holy Bountiful Onecommanded through Moses, saying: "And you shall love the Eternal your God" (Deut. 6.5); for, when a person loves the Eternal with a proper love, they will momentarily perform all of the commandments because of love.

(1) It is a commandment to love and fear this Glorified and Awe-inspiring God, for it is said: "You shall love the Eternal your God" (Deut. 6,5); and as it is said: "The Eternal your God you shall fear." (Ibid. 6, 13).

(2) But how may one discover the way to love and fear God? When people reflect concerning God's works, and God's great and wonderful creatures,¹But they must make thorough study. C. and will behold through them God's wonderful, matchless and infinite wisdom, they will spontaneously be filled with love, praise and exaltation and become possessed of a great longing to know the Great Name, even as David said: "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God," (Ps. 42,2); and when he will think of all these matters, they will be taken aback in a moment and stricken with awe, and realize that they are an infinitesimal creature, humble and dark, standing with an insignificant and slight knowledge in the presence of the All Wise, as David said: "For when I see Your heavens, the wonderful works of Your fingers, of what use is humanity that You may remember them?" (Ibid. 8,4). And, in harmony with these matters, I elucidate great, general principles of the works of the Master of the universe, so that they might serve as an opening for one who understands by which to love the Name, as some sages said on the subject of love: "Out of it you will recognize the One who spoke, and the universe was called into existence."

(1) Since our previous discussion in the ninth gate dealt with clarifying the subject of separating from this world, and our intent in it was to unify the heart and free it for love of the Creator, and for yearning to do God's will, I saw proper to follow with a clarification of the ways of love of God, because it is the purpose of all the steps, and the final stage in the levels of those who serve God. I will begin, and I seek from God to help me.

(2) It is proper for you, my brother, that you understand and that you know, that everything we previously mentioned of the duties of the heart and limbs, and the volunteering of the soul, they are all rungs and steps leading to this sublime matter, which is our intent to clarify in this gate. It is also proper for you to know that every duty and every good quality, whether it comes through reason, scripture, or tradition, are all steps and stages by which one ascends to this matter, and it is their ultimate purpose and destination. There is no level above it or after it.

(3) Therefore, because of this, the prophet (Moshe), peace be upon him, placed it immediately after the unity of God, in saying: "Hear, O Israel: The Eternal is our God; the Eternal is one; And you shall love the Eternal, your God..." (Devarim 6:4), and he exhorted on it, and returned to it many times, as written: "To love the Eternal your God, to hearken to God's voice, and to cleave to God" (Devarim 30:20).

The meaning of cleaving is: faithful love, and wholehearted devotion, as written: "there is a friend who cleaves closer than a brother"(Mishlei 18:24).

(4) Frequently the Torah places fear of God before love of God, as written "And now, Israel, what does the Eternal your God require of you, but to fear the Eternal your God, to walk in all God's ways, and to love God" (Devarim 10:12), and it says: "You shall fear the Eternal your God; and to God shall you cling" (Devarim 10:20).

It is correct to place fear of God before love of God because [fear of God] is the final purpose and furthest end of abstinence, which in turn is the nearest level approaching the lowest level of love of God, and the first gate of its gates, and it is impossible for one to reach it without preceding fear and fright of God.

(5) And therefore, we have preceded the gate of abstinence, because it is impossible to establish love of God in our hearts if the love of this world is established there. But when the heart of the believer is empty from the love of this world and free of its lusts, out of recognition and understanding - the love of the Creator will establish in his heart, and it will be set in his soul according to his yearning to God, and his recognition of God, as written: "In the way of Your judgments, Eternal One, have we waited for You [the desire of our soul is to Your Name, and to the remembrance of You]" (Yeshaya 26:8).

(6) It is fitting that we clarify of the subject of love of G-d seven matters:

(7) 1. What is the matter of love God?

(8) 2. How many kinds of love of God are there?

(9) 3. What is the path to it?

(10) 4. If it is possible or not for a human being to love God

(11) 5. matters detrimental to it

(12) 6. Its marks, through which it is identified in a believer

(13) 7. The practices of those who love God.

(2) However, we must first introduce that there are two types of fear which are effectively three types. The first type is very easy to attain, there being nothing easier. The second is difficult, while the second part of the second type, is more difficult than everything.

(3) It's perfection is likewise, a very great form of perfection. The first type is fear of punishment, and the second is fear of God's exaltedness (Yirat Haromemut), of which Fear of Sin is the second part therein. We will now explain their matters and differences.

(4) Fear of punishment, as its name implies, is for a person to fear transgressing the word of the Eternal, their God, due to the punishments incurred for the transgression, whether to body or soul. This [type of fear] is certainly easy to attain. For everyone loves themself and fears for their soul and there is nothing which keeps a person from doing something more than the fear that this thing might bring them harm.......

(6) The second type of fear is fear of God's exaltedness (Yirat Haromemut). It means that a person distances and refrains from sin because of God's great honor, blessed be God Name. For how could his heart of flesh and blood, lowly and petty, allow or dare do something against the will of the Creator, blessed and exalted be God's Name?!

(7) This type of fear is not so easy to attain, for it will arise only out of knowledge and thought, [namely] by contemplating God's exaltedness and the lowliness of humanity. All these things are outgrowths of the intellect which understands and attains insight. This is the fear we described previously in Piety, setting it as the second part of one of the divisions of Piety.

(8) When experiencing this fear [of God's exaltedness], a person will feel shame and tremble when standing before his Maker to pray or when performing any divine service. This is the praiseworthy fear which the pious great ones were praised for. It is what Moshe referred to when he said: "to fear this glorious and awesome Name, the Eternal, your God" (Devarim 28:58).

(9) The Fear of Sin, which we are here explaining, is like a branch of the "Fear of God's exaltedness" (yirat haromemut) mentioned above, but also like a separate, independent type of fear. It's matter is for a person to constantly fear and worry on their deeds lest some impurity or sin mix in with them, or lest there be some matter, small or big, which is not befitting God's great honor, and God's exalted Name.

(10) You can see the close relationship between this fear and the "Fear of God's exaltedness" we mentioned. For the aim of both is for one to not do something contrary to God's exalted honor.

(11) But the distinction between them for which Fear of Sin is considered a separate type and called by a different name is that "Fear of God's Exaltedness" is only during performance of a deed, during divine service or during refraining from sin, namely, at the time one stands in prayer or engages in divine service, that one should feel shame and abashed, tremble and quake before God's exalted honor; or at the time an opportunity to commit a sin presents itself before them, and they recognize that it is a sin, that refrain from doing it in order to not do something to provoke the eyes of His glory, God forbid.

(12) But "Fear of Sin" is at all times and moments. At every moment one is afraid, lest they stumble and do something or half-something which will be against the honor of God's Name.