הנה רבותינו ז"ל כינו את היראה בשם מפתחות החיצוני' וזה השער לה' צדיקים יבאו בו:
Our Sages of blessed memory nicknamed Fear (of heaven) with the name "External Keys" and ‘it is the gate to God, the righteous come and And as our Sages of blessed memory said: “The measure of two openings”, and they said: “Open for Me like the eye of a needle”—this refers to fear (awe), which is but a point in relation to love. Without fear, we—the lower beings—have no connection, no worth, no grasp, no cleaving, and no relevance at all to “cleaving to His attributes.”For in all the attributes—even those involving bodily enjoyment—there is a fixed and dependent aspect upon them. Therefore, there is a danger that if one arouses himself to them [the attributes] without the foundation of fear, they will draw him toward bodily pleasure, as explained in the Zohar regarding “love without fear.”It is not so with fear, for fear is that which breaks the hold of the body. After complete fear, it becomes possible to cleave to all His attributes, for fear is the indwelling of the Shechinah upon oneself. From there all evildoers are scattered, for the Name of Hashem is called upon him, and they will fear him.And he will go from strength to strength—through fear—toward cleaving and love, until he attains joy. This is the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. And this is [the meaning of] “Vehayah,” which is a term of joy: the joy that he attains from the heel—that is, from fear.“Tishme’un” (“you shall listen”) is interpreted as the language of union. “Et ha-mishpatim” (“the ordinances”) means Et, which refers to the Shechinah, from Aleph to Tav. And Da’at (knowledge), which is cleaving to the attributes, is called “mishpat” (judgment), for the Shechinah is called “chukim” (statutes), which is faith.Thus, “tishme’un et ha-mishpatim” means: the union of the Shechinah and the Holy One, blessed be He. “U’shmartem va’asitem otam” (“and you shall guard and do them”)—as it is said: “A woman only makes a covenant with one who makes her into a vessel.” This is the matter of her being established and her structure being built. And from guarding will come doing—the building of her stature. From the point, a complete stature will be made. And contemplate this well.
הנה רבותינו ז"ל כינו את היראה בשם מפתחות החיצוני' וזה השער לה' צדיקים יבאו בו:
Our Sages of blessed memory nicknamed Fear (of heaven) with the name "External Keys" and ‘it is the gate to God, the righteous come and And as our Sages of blessed memory said: “The measure of two openings”, and they said: “Open for Me like the eye of a needle”—this refers to fear (awe), which is but a point in relation to love. Without fear, we—the lower beings—have no connection, no worth, no grasp, no cleaving, and no relevance at all to “cleaving to His attributes.”For in all the attributes—even those involving bodily enjoyment—there is a fixed and dependent aspect upon them. Therefore, there is a danger that if one arouses himself to them [the attributes] without the foundation of fear, they will draw him toward bodily pleasure, as explained in the Zohar regarding “love without fear.”It is not so with fear, for fear is that which breaks the hold of the body. After complete fear, it becomes possible to cleave to all His attributes, for fear is the indwelling of the Shechinah upon oneself. From there all evildoers are scattered, for the Name of Hashem is called upon him, and they will fear him.And he will go from strength to strength—through fear—toward cleaving and love, until he attains joy. This is the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. And this is [the meaning of] “Vehayah,” which is a term of joy: the joy that he attains from the heel—that is, from fear.“Tishme’un” (“you shall listen”) is interpreted as the language of union. “Et ha-mishpatim” (“the ordinances”) means Et, which refers to the Shechinah, from Aleph to Tav. And Da’at (knowledge), which is cleaving to the attributes, is called “mishpat” (judgment), for the Shechinah is called “chukim” (statutes), which is faith.Thus, “tishme’un et ha-mishpatim” means: the union of the Shechinah and the Holy One, blessed be He. “U’shmartem va’asitem otam” (“and you shall guard and do them”)—as it is said: “A woman only makes a covenant with one who makes her into a vessel.” This is the matter of her being established and her structure being built. And from guarding will come doing—the building of her stature. From the point, a complete stature will be made. And contemplate this well.