Q&A: The Rational Path to Fear and Love
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Rational Path to Fear and Love
Question
Hello Rabbi. What is the meaning of the commandments to fear and love God, and what is the way to arrive at fulfilling them according to the Rabbi’s approach?
Answer
I don't know. The path is personal for each individual. There are recommendations in Maimonides, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, and elsewhere.
Discussion on Answer
Yossi, there is extensive discussion of the topic in the book Duties of the Heart, in the last section, and also in the final part of the book The Path of the Just.
The question apparently belongs to the field of psychology; nowadays there is no lack of literature dealing with the subject.
Though see my article (and also Column 22), where I argued that these are forms of perspective from which emotions may perhaps arise, and not necessarily a command to have emotions: