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8
dvarim

Moshe Rabbeinu turns to the nation before his death and says, “What
does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem.” By the fact
that yirat Shamayim is stated, we understand its primary importance. Why
did Moshe minimize the difficulty of acquiring this trait, by using the
word only?

When a person lives by the dictum “I have set Hashem before me
always,” placing signposts throughout his day which awaken him to the
realization of his purpose in this world, yirat Shamayim is all the easier
to acquire. Man should love his Creator at least as much as he cherishes
his money, l’havdil.

Rabbi Akiva merited reaching his tremendous level on account of
sanctifying himself completely for Torah study. He was capable of
separating from his family for the duration of twenty-four years because
he sacrificed his personal interests on the altar of Hashem’s will, due to
his great yirat Shamayim.