Strength. Discernment. Boundaries. Judgement. Withholding within Awe. Receptivity. Space. Wow! Splendor.
First, I must say I am delighted that I finally figured out how to make this app talk to my Hebrew keyboard again. The latest update made trouble, and I haven’t been able to write out the Hebrew for several days! A tech wizard I am not.
Now that that’s out of the way…
Awe - that place where fear meets amazement. I do not think fear is a useless feeling. I am well aware of its capacity to incapacitate, and yet, there is a place for it. There is an ongoing debate in Hasidic teachings about the relative value of love and fear as vehicles for Divine connection. I say the answer is YES, with a leaning towards love.
However, there is Strength to be found within a certain type of fear. At its most basic, an appropriate fear response causes the release of a good dose of adrenaline, giving us a reserve supply of physical Strength and Endurance at just the right moment.
The fear that is part of the mixture of the complex color of Awe can generate a certain kind of Strength. There is Strength in feeling my tiny-ness amidst the vast Space of Creation. It may seem counterintuitive, and yet, I find that there is a great, energizing love that comes swooping in on the coattails of these fearsome Awe experiences. In those moments I am Receptive to the Divine Love, and it Strengthens me. I feel Divine Gevurah, and I know that I am held.
Today, may you find Strength in the complexities of Awe. May you feel held in the vastness of it all.
Shabbat shalom.