Two awes: fear of sin and awe of exaltedness

וידבר אלקים את כל הדברים האלה לאמר אנכי כו'.

"And God spoke all these words, saying: I am [Hashem your God]..." (Shemos 20:1-2).

The opening of the Aseres HaDibros. The Sefas Emes will explain that the foundation of the entire Torah is contained in "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" — recognizing Hashem in everything.

כי עיקר התורה הוא לראות בכל דבר כי אנכי ה' אלקיך.

For the essence of the Torah is to see in every single thing that "I am Hashem your God."

The whole point of Torah is to perceive Hashem's presence within everything — to recognize "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" not as an abstract belief but as a lived seeing of Godliness in all of reality.

ולכן התורה מלשון אורה ומלשון יראה דכתיב יראת ה' היא חכמה.

Therefore "Torah" is from the language of "orah" (light) and from the language of "yirah" (awe), as it is written, "the fear of Hashem (yiras Hashem) is wisdom" (Iyov 28:28).

The word "Torah" hints at both "orah" (light/illumination) and "yirah" (awe). Seeing Hashem in everything brings both: the light of recognition and the yirah that flows from that recognition — and the pasuk equates yiras Hashem with wisdom (chochmah).

כי עיקר היראה כשרואין האמת ע"י התורה איך הקב"ה מנהיג ומשגיח על הכל ומחיה ומהוה כל ממילא חל יראה אמיתית מרוממות אל.

For the essence of yirah is when one sees the truth through the Torah — how the Holy One, Blessed is He, leads and watches over everything, and gives life to and brings all into being — then automatically a true yirah settles upon him, from the exaltedness of God (romemus Keil).

Real yirah is not fright; it arises naturally when, through Torah, one truly perceives that Hashem governs, watches over, sustains, and continually creates everything. This perception of His infinite exaltedness automatically produces yiras haromemus — awe before His greatness.

וזהו יראה השלימה.

And this is the complete yirah (yirah ha'sheleimah).

This awe born of perceiving Hashem's grandeur is the perfect, whole form of yirah.

ולכן אמרו כל שיראת חטאו קודמת לחכמתו חכמתו מתקיימת.

And therefore they said: "anyone whose fear of sin (yiras chet) precedes his wisdom — his wisdom endures" (Avos 3:9).

The Mishnah teaches that yiras chet must come before chochmah for the wisdom to last. The Sefas Emes will now address the apparent tension with the verse that calls yirah itself the wisdom.

והלא כתיב הן יראת ה' היא חכמה.

But is it not written, "Behold, the fear of Hashem — that is wisdom" (Iyov 28:28)?

If yirah is itself wisdom, how can it be said to "precede" wisdom? The two seem to be one and the same.

אבל אית יראה ואית יראה.

But there is yirah and there is yirah.

The resolution: there are two distinct kinds of yirah, and they relate to wisdom differently.

יראת חטא היא מכח החסרון ושפלות האדם.

Yiras chet (fear of sin) comes from the power of a person's deficiency and lowliness.

The first kind, yiras chet, grows out of one's awareness of his own smallness, lacking, and lowliness — fear rooted in deficiency. This is the yirah that must precede wisdom, clearing the ground for it.

אבל ע"י החכמה זוכין ליראת הרוממות והיא יראה מתוך השלימות ולא מתוך החסרון כדכתיב אין מחסור ליריאיו דייקא.

But through the wisdom one merits yiras ha'romemus (the awe of exaltedness), which is a yirah arising from wholeness (sheleimus) and not from deficiency — as it is written, "there is no lack for those who fear Him (ein machsor li'rei'av)" (Tehillim 34:10), specifically.

The second, higher kind comes after and through wisdom: yiras haromemus, awe born not of one's own lack but of perceiving Hashem's greatness — a yirah of fullness. The pasuk "ein machsor li'rei'av" hints precisely at this: those who possess this yirah are marked by having no "lack" — their awe is one of wholeness.

וזו היראה היתה בירושלים וביהמ"ק דכתיב ג' פעמים בשנה יראה יראה שע"י הראי' חל היראה.

And this yirah was in Yerushalayim and in the Beis Hamikdash, as it is written, "three times a year [all your males] shall be seen / shall see (yera'eh / yireh)" (Shemos 23:17) — that through the "seeing" (re'iyah), the yirah settles upon a person.

The aliyah l'regel to the Beis Hamikdash — "yera'eh," seeing and being seen before Hashem — was the means to acquire this higher awe. Because yiras haromemus comes from "seeing" the truth of Hashem's presence, the very act of re'iyah at the Mikdash instilled it.

ולכן נק' ירושלים על שם היראה מתוך השלימות כנ"ל.

Therefore Yerushalayim is named for the yirah that arises from wholeness, as above.

The name Yerushalayim itself (Yir'eh + Shalem, "He will see / fear" + "whole") expresses this yiras haromemus that flows from sheleimus — the awe of wholeness rather than of lack.

וזה תכלית התורה לידע כי אנכי ה' אלקיך ואין זוכין ליראה זו רק בהתפשטות הגשמיות ועל זה כ' צאינה וראינה כו' צאינה יציאה מהטבע ואז יכולין לראות במלך שלמה.

And this is the purpose of the Torah — to know that "I am Hashem your God." And one merits this yirah only through hispashtus ha'gashmiyus (divesting oneself of physicality); and concerning this it is written, "Go forth and see (tze'enah u're'enah)... [O daughters of Tziyon, upon King Shlomo]" (Shir HaShirim 3:11) — "tze'enah" means going out from nature (teva), and then one can "see King Shlomo."

The goal of Torah is this knowing of "Anochi Hashem Elokecha," and it requires stripping away one's attachment to the physical. The verse "tze'enah u're'enah" hints at this: first "go out" (tze'enah) — depart from the bounds of nature — and only then can you "see" (re'enah) the "King who possesses peace" (Shlomo, i.e., Hashem).

וזה נתקיים בקבלת התורה כדכתיב נפשי יצאה וכ' ויוצא משה את העם לקראת האלקים מן המחנה.

And this was fulfilled at the receiving of the Torah, as it is written, "my soul went out (nafshi yatz'ah)" (Shir HaShirim 5:6), and it is written, "and Moshe brought the people out (vayotzei) toward God, from the camp" (Shemos 19:17).

At Matan Torah this "going out" was realized: "my soul departed" expresses the soul leaving the body's limits, and Moshe physically "brought the people out" of the camp toward Hashem — a literal and spiritual exodus from the natural state to receive the Torah.

ולכן זכו כמ"ש וירא העם וינועו זו יראת הרוממות ולכן אמר להם אל תיראו ואין אומרים אל תירא רק למי שירא שמים לאמיתו.

Therefore they merited, as it is written, "and the people saw and trembled (vayar ha'am vayanu'u)" (Shemos 20:15) — this is yiras ha'romemus. And therefore Moshe said to them, "Do not fear (al tira'u)" (Shemos 20:17); and one says "al tira" (do not fear) only to one who possesses yiras Shomayim truly (la'amito).

Because they had "gone out" from physicality, Bnei Yisrael attained yiras haromemus — "the people saw and trembled." Significantly, Moshe then said "al tira'u," and the Sefas Emes notes one only tells "do not fear" to a person whose yiras Shomayim is genuine. This sets up the next distinction.

פי' לאמיתו בחי' יראת הרוממות ע"י שרואה האמת השגחת אחד האמת בעולם ואין זו היראה יכולה להשתנות.

The meaning of "truly (la'amito)" is the aspect of yiras ha'romemus, through seeing the truth of the hashgachah of the One True [God] in the world; and this yirah cannot change.

"True" yirah means yiras haromemus — awe rooted in actually perceiving the providence of the One True God governing the world. Because it rests on perceived truth, this yirah is unshakable; it cannot be removed or altered.

ולכן יכולין לומר לו אל תירא לאפוקי אי ירא מחמת איזה חסרון ועונש אם יאמרו לו אל תירא יסיר המורא מאתו.

Therefore one can say to him "do not fear" — to exclude one who fears on account of some deficiency or punishment, for if one says to such a person "do not fear," it would remove the fear from him.

One can safely tell a person with yiras haromemus "al tira" because his awe is grounded in truth and will not vanish. By contrast, if someone's fear stems only from dread of lack or punishment (yiras ha'onesh), telling him "do not fear" would simply make his fear disappear — proving it was the lower kind.

ולכן דרשו חז"ל לכל המורא הגדול על קבלת התורה.

Therefore Chazal expounded "all the great awe (ha'mora ha'gadol)" (Devarim 34:12) as referring to the receiving of the Torah.

Chazal interpret the Torah's closing phrase "ha'mora ha'gadol" as alluding to Matan Torah — for it was there that the great, true yiras haromemus was attained.

וז"ש אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים פרש"י כדאי הוצאה שתהיו משועבדים לי.

And this is the meaning of "[I am Hashem your God] who took you out of the land of Mitzrayim" (Shemos 20:2). Rashi explains: the taking-out is worthwhile enough that you should be subservient to Me.

Rashi explains that Hashem mentions Yetzias Mitzrayim in the first commandment because that redemption alone justifies our complete servitude to Him. The Sefas Emes will deepen this connection to the "going out" that enables yirah.

פי' בכח יציאת מצרים אתם מוכנים לקבל אלקותי וכ"כ אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלקים.

The meaning is: through the power of Yetzias Mitzrayim you are prepared to receive My Godliness; and so it is written, "[I am Hashem] who took you out of the land of Mitzrayim to be a God to you" (Vayikra 22:33, Bamidbar 15:41).

Yetzias Mitzrayim was itself a "going out" — from the constraints and impurity of Mitzrayim — which prepared Bnei Yisrael to receive Hashem's Godliness. The redemption's stated purpose, "to be a God to you," is exactly this readiness to accept His sovereignty.

וזה לעולם כפי התפשטות מן הגשמיות יכולין לקבל אלקותו ית"ש:

And this is always the case: according to one's divesting from physicality (hispashtus min ha'gashmiyus), one is able to receive His Godliness, may His Name be blessed.

This is a timeless principle: the degree to which a person frees himself from attachment to the physical is the precise measure of how much Godliness — and the unshakable yiras haromemus that comes with it — he can receive.

Summary: The essence of Torah is to see "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" in everything, which gives rise to yirah. The Sefas Emes distinguishes two awes: yiras chet, born of one's own deficiency, which must precede wisdom; and yiras haromemus, born of wholeness — awe at perceiving Hashem's exaltedness, which comes through wisdom and cannot change. This higher awe (associated with Yerushalayim, the Beis Hamikdash, and Matan Torah) is attained by "going out" from physicality. Just as Yetzias Mitzrayim was a "going out" that prepared Bnei Yisrael to receive Hashem's Godliness, so always: the more one divests from gashmiyus, the more of His Godliness he can receive.