Revering God #2 — BT Shabbat 31b — #64

Rabbah bar Rav Huna said, “Any person who has [mastered] Torah learning but lacks yirat shamayim (reverence for heaven, or God) is like a treasurer who has been given the keys to the inner chambers, but who has not been given the keys to the outer chambers. How can [the treasurer] enter [the inner chamber]?” R. Yannai proclaimed, “Woe to the one who does not have a courtyard, but nonetheless makes a gate for a courtyard!” Rav Yehudah said, “The Holy Blessed One created the world only so that [people] would stand in awe of [God], as it is written, God acted so that people would stand in awe of [God] (Ecclesiastes 3:14).”

 R. Shimon and R. Elazar were sitting [together when] R. Yaakov walked by. One said to his colleague, “Let us rise before him because he is a person who fears sin.” The other said to him, “Let us rise before him because he is a Torah scholar.” [The first] said to him, “I said that [we should stand because] he is one who fears sin, and you say that [we should stand because] he is a Torah scholar?” It can be concluded that R. Elazar was the one who said that [R. Yaakov] was “one who fears sins,” for R. Yochanan said in the name of R. Elazar, “The Holy Blessed One has nothing in the world except reverence for heaven, as it is written, Now, O Israel, what does Adonai your God require of you? Only to revere Adonai your God… (Deuteronomy 10:12), and it is written, [God] said to humanity: Hein [behold], reverence for God is wisdom (Job 28:28). In Greek, the term “hein” means one.” It is concluded.

INTRODUCTION

What is the relationship between Torah learning and reverence for God? Does Torah learning teach or inspire reverence? Or does reverence facilitate meaningful and genuine Torah learning? 

What is the most important religious quality? It might seem silly to us to try to pin down the singular most important attribute to cultivate, but for the Rabbis, there are traits they deem crucial because they influence so much else about how we live our lives. In this discussion, the Rabbis have narrowed the conversation to Torah learning and revering God. In the case of the latter, the Rabbis express this attribute in several ways: (1) awe or fear of God; (2) awe or fear of heaven; (3) fear of sin. The conversation between Rabbah bar Rav Huna speaks of yirat shamayim (“awe/fear of heaven”) consistently, while the story about R. Shimon and R. Elazar’s evaluation of R. Yaakov concerns cheil chata’im (“fear of sin”). When the Gemara reflects on the story of their conversation, it employs “reverence for  heaven,” not “fear of sin” as R. Shimon and R. Elazar did. It would appear that the anecdote about R. Shimon and R. Elazar was inserted here by the redactor because in this position, it is used to support the claim made by Rabbah bar Rav Huna that reverence for God is the singular most important attribute to possess.

COMMENTARY

Gemara offers three ways to understand the relationship between Torah learning and reverence for God, each expressed through a metaphor in which the inner chamber (which connotes the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the Temple where The Torah was kept) is genuine Torah  learning, and the courtyard surrounding the inner chamber is reverence for God. Rabbah bar Rav Huna goes further. He tells us that the key to accessing the inner chamber is actually the key to the surrounding courtyard of yirat shamayim (reverence for God): to master genuine and meaningful Torah learning, one must first have reverence for God. R. Yannai expresses concern about one who does not have a courtyard (i.e., lacks reverence for God)  but makes a key for it (i.e., pretends reverence). Rav Yehudah goes further still, suggesting that God’s ultimate goal is for people to be imbued with reverence for God. Torah learning (the inner chamber) serves that goal: God acted (i.e., gave the Torah) so that people would stand in awe of God.

R. Shimon and R. Elazar concur that R. Yaakov is worthy of admiration and respect, but disagree concerning his finest trait. One claims it is the trait of fear of sin (taken here to be equivalent to reverence for God) and the other holds that it is R. Yaakov’s Torah learning that commands respect. While ostensibly it seems that Gemara’s concern is determining which sage holds which opinion, R. Yochanan’s teaching in R. Elazar’s name reveals the underlying goal: the teaching holds that God considers yirat Adonai the ultimate priority. We need the entire biblical passage to understand Gemara’s claim: Now, O Israel, what does Adonai your God require of you? Only this: to revere Adonai your God, to walk only in [God’s] paths, to love [God], and to serve Adonai your God with all your heart and soul, keeping Adonai’s commandments and laws, which I enjoin upon you today, for your good. (Dt. 10:12-13). Gemara is saying that reverence is listed first because it is most important and all the rest listed in the verse flow from it. Gemara further cites a verse from Job that mentions reverence for God and wisdom (i.e., Torah) together—in that order—following the word hein. Because hein sounds like the word for “one” in Greek, Gemara takes this as further evidence that reverence is more important even than Torah.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER AND DISCUSS

1. How would you define “awe/fear of God?” In your opinion, are “awe/fear of God” and “fear of sin” equivalent? If not, how are they different from one another?
2. How is your understanding of “awe/fear of God” connected with how you conceive of God? If one’s conception of God is abstract (e.g., the source of goodness, the unity of universe, the entirety of the universe, or existence itself), how might “reverence/awe of God” be understood?
3. Can Torah learning connote objective knowledge divorced from religious and moral attitudes and values? If so, is there a danger in the separation?