Beauty. Heart. Balance. Harmony within Strength. Boundaries. Power. Structure. Discipline. Discernment. Judgement.
The early Hasidic masters connect Gevurah with Yir’ah, a word often translated as fear. While fear is a part of Yir’ah, the word is perhaps better translated as Awe. This is not awe as in, “Wow! That movie was awesome!” No, this is the type of Awe that has you shaking in your boots in the knowledge that you are fully and completely seen. Every nook and cranny. With that comes the deep awareness that you are most definitely NOT the end of the line.
And what a wonderful thing! How Beautiful to experience that Strength surrounding you, holding you inside of the Divine Structure of which you are a part - infinitesimal, yet integral to the whole.
Hasidut also connects that Fearsome state with Love. The discourse is on the relationship between Love and Yir’ah is as least as varied as those who hold forth on the topic. Depending on who’s talking, one rises above as the superior spiritual state. One results from the other - in either direction. And on it goes. As far as I can tell, each take on this relationship is true.
The other thing apparent to me, as I described above, is the way they intersect. When they are in Balance, Love and Fear - Chesed and Gevurah - fill the Heart with the Beauty of the awareness of the Love that gives us the Strength to not have to run the whole show. That is a particular variety of Harmonized Strength. Tiferet SheBiG’vurah.
May your Heart be aglow with awareness of the Power that surrounds you. May you be Harmonized with your place within the wholeness of the Structure. May you breathe in the Beauty of the Divine Paradox of Strength in boot-shaking Awe.