[Avodah] Yeshivishe Peyos

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, June 17, 2007 7:23 am, RMK <mkopinsky at gmail.com> wrote:
: I have heard the idea expressed (I don't remember where) that the
: reason for preventative chumras (s'yagim lis'yagim) is that while
: any mitzvah allows us to demonstrate ahavas Hashem either by the
: maaseh itself or by hiddurim in its performance, the only way to
: actively demonstrate (or develop, maybe?) yir'as Hashem (or at least,
: yiras Cheit) is by actively distancing oneself from a safeik aveira.

I am not sure I agree with this assumption that ahavah is more
associated with an assei, and yir'ah with a lav.

For example, I'm more cautious with my wife's feelings than with
someone I care less about. Is that ahavah or yir'ah?


A tangent on the words "yir'as Hashem (or at least, yiras Cheit)":

According to Mesilas Yesharim, there are two types of yir'ah, the
latter comes in two subtypes:
     + Yir'as ha'onesh - this is the lesser level, but since it prevents
                         cheit, it's no small thing
     + Yir'as Shamayim
          + Yir'as hacheit - not fear of the onesh, but fear of the
                             act of defying G-d in and of itself
          + Yir'as haRomemus - awe of Hashem's Greatness.

The Ramchal takes "yir'ah", with no modifier, to be yir'as hacheit. In
my comparison above, it's parallel to my caution with my wife's
feelings simply because of those feelings; not because of what they
would drive her to do to me.

See MY ch. 24 <http://www.shechem.org/torah/mesyesh/h24.htm>.

RAEK has a beautiful explanation of yir'as hacheit. See Be'iqvos
haYir'ah at <http://www.aishdas.org/raek/yirah.pdf>. Here's a snippet
from RYGB's JO article at <http://www.aishdas.org/rygb/raek.htm>:
> Yir'ah is not anguish, not pain, not bitter anxiety. To what may
> yir'ah be likened? To the tremor of fear which a father feels when
> his beloved young son rides his shoulders as he dances with him and
> rejoices before him, taking care that he not fall off. Here there is
> joy that is incomparable, pleasure that is incomparable. And the
> fear tied up with them is pleasant too. It does not impede the
> freedom of dance... It passes through them like a spinal column
> [beri'ach hatichon -mi] that straightens and strengthens. And it
> envelops them like a modest frame that lends grace and
> pleasantness... It is clear to the father that his son is riding
> securely upon him and will not fall back, for he constantly
> remembers him, not for a moment does he forget him. His son's every
> movement, even the smallest, he feels, and he ensures that his son
> will not sway from his place, nor incline sideways - his heart is,
> therefore, sure, and he dances and rejoices. If a person is sure
> that the "bundle" of his life's meaning is safely held high by the
> shoulders of his awareness, he knows that this bundle will not
> fall backwards, he will not forget it for a moment, he will remember
> it constantly, with yir'ah he will safe keep it. If every moment
> he checks it - then his heart is confident, and he dances and
> rejoices...

I combine the Ramchal and RAEK in my blog entry on yir'ah at
<http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2005/05/yirah.shtml>.

Tir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             Spirituality is like a bird: if you tighten
micha at aishdas.org        your grip on it, it chokes; slacken your grip,
http://www.aishdas.org   and it flies away.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            - Rav Yisrael Salanter