[Proverbs 1:7] Awe of G-d is the beginning of knowledge. This entity is named beginning; it is the gate through which one enters faith. The entire world is based on this commandment.
Awe branches in three directions, two of which are not fittingly rooted, one of which is the essence of awe.
There is the person who fears the blessed Holy One so that his children may live and not die, or who fears physical or material punishment. Because of this the person fears G-d constantly, but that person's awe is not focused on the blessed Holy One.
There is the person who fears the blessed Holy One because the person is afraid of punishment in the next world, or hell. Neither of these is the essential root of awe.
The essence of awe is that a person be in awe of his G-d because G-d is immense and sovereign, the essence and root of all worlds, before whom everything is considered as nothing.
[Translation by Daniel Matt]
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