Those two kinds of fear—fear of punishment in this world and fear of punishment in the next world—are not the essence of fear and its root” (Rabash, “Lishma and Lo Lishma”).

Fear is what propels us forward. Modern medicine lists 780 types of fear. They say there are all kinds of techniques that further distinguish its types. But what is fear?

In essence, fear is a feeling of not being fulfilled. There can be fear of the past, present, and future. The fear that I will feel bad now and later, in this world and in the world to come. What else could there be besides that? Only the fear of pain and suffering.

In the article “Lishma and Lo Lishma,” Rabash states there is also another fear—fear not for oneself. But, nevertheless, I still fear. When I want to do something good for someone I love, it is as if I am buying their desire to receive; it becomes like my own, and I care about filling it. Thus, I have a fear related to the desire to receive that belongs to a loved one, whether it will be fulfilled or not.

It is similar to a mother’s fear for her children. She worries both about whether she will be happy now or in the world to come, and for her child so that he will be happy now and in the world to come. The fact that a person is worried about himself and about another “animal” next to him because he is related to him and a part of him is the same kind of fear.

However, there is also the fear regarding the giver, the Creator. If I acquire His desire to give, if I feel Him, if I have formed some kind of relationship with Him, if I begin to love Him, then I begin to care about what He feels to the same extent. As I understand it, I am worried about what it will be like for Him.

Of course, you can say, “This is the Creator, what is there to talk about? What does it mean, ‘What is it like for Him?’ He is the only one, the first, the beginning of all beginnings, He is perfect, He is everything!”

But since I buy Kelim from Him, Inside me I feel as if He depends on me. And once He depends on me, I worry about how to fulfill Him. Thus, I have a different kind of worry; instead of worrying about what will happen to me now and after this life ends, I care about what He gets from me.

These things contradict each other. If I think about the Creator, I do not think about myself. This is called replacing animalistic fear, human fear, with the fear of love, called the suffering of love. Instead of caring about my own fulfillment, I think about fulfilling the Creator.
[352411]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/26/26, Rabash, “Lishma and Lo Lishma”

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