‘Awe’ versus ‘fear’

Student wonders how Divine feels

Recently, a Bar Mitzvah student asked me, “Cantor, what is the difference between awe and fear?” Struck by the depth of his question, my mind raced to find some plausible explanation. And then, in order to buy time, I responded with that great pedagogical tool. “That’s a great question. What do you think is the difference?,” I challenged him, groping for my own clarity on the words — and stalling for time.

After plowing through the minute descriptions of the construction of the Mishkan Ohel Moed, The Tabernacle of the Tent of Assembly, along with the details of the vestments of the priests, and including the instruction for the tools of offering, I challenged the student, “Now, visualize in your mind how all of that must have looked. Imagine that you are going to be seeing all of this work for the first time. What does it look like? What is everyone doing? What do you hear? What do you see? And most importantly, how does it make you feel?”

As the spiritual and religious teachers of children, we utilize many tools in our instruction. In Jewish education, we begin with the simple decoding of Hebrew letters to make complete words. We then add more symbols — ta-amei hamikra — which are decoded into musical sounds. We even (hopefully) get to study the simple meaning of the text itself, helping them to draw connections to their own lives. Rarely do we get to what I believe is central to spiritual education: What does the encounter with the Divine feel like?

This time, I didn’t have to bring it up; my student came to the word fear, and its (almost) synonym, awe. If we are to consult a HebrewEnglish dictionary, we could find different words for fear. Pachad and yira are both listed; the first being more closely defined as “trembling” or “terror,” both being responses to a forceful event, perhaps one filled with rage or someone’s wrath. However yira might also be more closely associated with the other side of “fear,” which is “awe.” In Deuteronomy 31:6 we read al tir’u — “do not fear” — which is linked with the power of God and the awesome experience of the Divine. Indeed, “awe” and “fear” are two sides of the same coin. We are fearful of what we are not yet capable of understanding, but in awe of the potential of the holiness in encountering God’s Divine Presence.

In any faith tradition, we have the potential to provide for a spiritual education for our children. Perhaps we can all think back to our youthful mindsets about God. In my youth, though fear and a little bit of awe were present feelings at that time, it would have been impossible for me to foresee the potential for finding those moments of “awe” that would follow in the years of my life.

Perhaps creating this envisioning process for our students is the most important educational training tool of all.

Samuel Radwine is the cantor for Congregation Etz Chaim in Bentonville and cantor emeritus of Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay in Rancho Palos Verdes,Calif.Email him at sradwine@gmail.com.