בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֱלֺקֵֽינוּ שֶׁבְּ֒רָאָֽנוּ לִכְ֒בוֹדוֹ וְהִבְדִּילָֽנוּ מִן הַתּוֹעִים וְנָֽתַן לָֽנוּ תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת וְחַיֵּי עוֹלָם נָטַע בְּתוֹכֵֽנוּ הוּא יִפְתַּח לִבֵּֽנוּ בְּתוֹרָתוֹ וְיָשֵׂם בְּלִבֵּֽנוּ אַהֲבָתוֹ וְיִרְאָתוֹ וְלַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנוֹ וּלְעָבְ֒דוֹ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם לְמַֽעַן לֺא נִיגַע לָרִיק וְלֺא נֵלֵד לַבֶּהָלָה:
Blessed is He, our God, Who created us for His glory, and set us apart from those who go astray; and gave us the Torah of truth, and eternal life He implanted within us. May He open our heart to His Torah, and instill in our heart love and awe of Him, to do His will and serve Him with a perfect heart, so that we shall not labor in vain nor bring forth that which causes dismay.
בנוסח הבקשה הוא יפתח לבנו בתורתו וישם בלבנו אהבתו ויראתו. עפ"י הגמ' וי מאן דלית לי' דרתא ותרעא לדרתא עביד. כי כל החכמה והתורה רק פתח לכנוס ליראת ה' היא אוצרו. וע"י שנפתח לבות בנ"י מכח התורה יכולין אח"כ לקבל היראה והאהבה...
כעין זה שמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל שתקנו מגילת רות בשבועות כמאמר העולם כי העיקר תורה ותפלה. ותפלה הוא בחי' דוד המע"ה כו'. והוא ג"כ בחי' יראה ולהודיע כי אם אין יראה אין חכמה כנ"ל:
We have a prayer that says "He opens our hearts in His Torah, placing His love and awe in our hearts, [so that we do not encounter vanity]." The Talmud, [referring to one who has learning but no awe] says: " Woe to the one who has no dwelling-place but makes himself a gateway for a dwelling."(Shabbat 31b) all of wisdom and Torah is but an entrance-way into "Awe before the Lord; that is his treasure" (Isaiah 33:6). Once Israel's hearts are opened by the power of Torah, they are able to receive Awe and Love...
In this way, I heard my grandfather explain why they established that the Megillah of Ruth be read on Shavuot. People say that the main thing is “study and prayer.” Prayer is derived from King David, of blessed memory. David [malchut] also represents awe, showing that “if there is no awe, there is no wisdom.”(Avot 4:30)
אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר רַב הוּנָא: כׇּל אָדָם שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ תּוֹרָה וְאֵין בּוֹ יִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם, דּוֹמֶה לְגִזְבָּר שֶׁמָּסְרוּ לוֹ מַפְתְּחוֹת הַפְּנִימִיּוֹת וּמַפְתְּחוֹת הַחִיצוֹנוֹת לֹא מָסְרוּ לוֹ, בְּהֵי עָיֵיל? מַכְרִיז רַבִּי יַנַּאי: חֲבָל עַל דְּלֵית לֵיהּ דָּרְתָא וְתַרְעָא לְדָרְתָא עָבֵיד.
אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: לֹא בָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ אֶלָּא כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּירְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְהָאֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה שֶׁיִּירְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו״.
Rabba bar Rav Huna said: Any person who has Torah in him but does not have fear of Heaven is like a treasurer [gizbar] to whom they gave keys to the inner doors of the treasury but they did not give keys to the outer door. With what key will he enter? Although the Torah is the inner key, without fear of Heaven one cannot gain access to the genuine Torah. Similarly, Rabbi Yannai would proclaim: Woe unto one who does not have a courtyard, and who makes a fence for the courtyard, i.e., a person who lacks fear of Heaven and is nevertheless involved in Torah study.
Rav Yehuda said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, only created His world so that people would fear before Him, as it is stated: “And God has so made it that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
The teaching implies a reversal of the usual kabbalistic symbols. Here, based on a Talmudic passage, Torah-learning (chochmah) is shown to be a gateway to awe (malchut), showing once again the circular quality of God's sefirot.
Rabbi Arthur Green