Awe: From Amazement to Engagement (Adventure Torah)

Finding a state of awe is central to Jewish values, and at the core of Adventure Judaism’s work. Jewish tradition gives us guidance for finding awe in nature, for balancing awe and fear, and for transforming moments of awe into habits of engaging with the world.

Awe in Text

תהילים ח׳:ה׳

(ה) מָה־אֱנ֥וֹשׁ כִּֽי־תִזְכְּרֶ֑נּוּ וּבֶן־אָ֝דָ֗ם כִּ֣י תִפְקְדֶֽנּוּ׃

Psalms 8:5

(5) what are human beings that You have been mindful of them, mortals that You have taken note of them,

איוב ז׳:י״ז

(יז) מָֽה־אֱ֭נוֹשׁ כִּ֣י תְגַדְּלֶ֑נּוּ וְכִֽי־תָשִׁ֖ית אֵלָ֣יו לִבֶּֽךָ׃

Job 7:17

(17)What are mortals, that You make much of them, That You fix Your attention upon them?

איוב ו׳:י״א

(יא) מַה־כֹּחִ֥י כִֽי־אֲיַחֵ֑ל וּמַה־קִּ֝צִּ֗י כִּֽי־אַאֲרִ֥יךְ נַפְשִֽׁי׃

Job 6:11

(11)What strength have I, that I should endure? How long have I to live, that I should be patient?

תהילים קי״א:י׳

(י) רֵ֘אשִׁ֤ית חׇכְמָ֨ה ׀ יִרְאַ֬ת יהוה שֵׂ֣כֶל ט֭וֹב לְכׇל־עֹֽשֵׂיהֶ֑ם תְּ֝הִלָּת֗וֹ עֹמֶ֥דֶת לָעַֽד׃ {פ}

Psalms 111:10

(10) The beginning of wisdom is reverence toward GOD; all who practice it gain sound understanding. Praise of [God] is everlasting.

ברכות ל״ג ב:כ״ג

וְאָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: הַכֹּל בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם, חוּץ מִיִּרְאַת שָׁמַיִם. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ שׁוֹאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם לְיִרְאָה״.

Berakhot 33b:23

Tangentially, the Gemara cites an additional statement by Rabbi Ḥanina concerning principles of faith. And Rabbi Ḥanina said: Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for fear of Heaven. Man has free will to serve God or not, as it is stated: “And now Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you other than to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all of His ways, to love Him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12). The Lord asks man to perform these matters because ultimately, the choice is in his hands.

שבת ל״א ב:א׳

יִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם, דּוֹמֶה לְגִזְבָּר שֶׁמָּסְרוּ לוֹ מַפְתְּחוֹת הַפְּנִימִיּוֹת וּמַפְתְּחוֹת הַחִיצוֹנוֹת לֹא מָסְרוּ לוֹ, בְּהֵי עָיֵיל? מַכְרִיז רַבִּי יַנַּאי: חֲבָל עַל דְּלֵית לֵיהּ דָּרְתָא וְתַרְעָא לְדָרְתָא עָבֵיד. אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: לֹא בָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ אֶלָּא כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּירְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְהָאֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה שֶׁיִּירְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו״.

Shabbat 31b:1

fear of Heaven is like a treasurer [gizbar] to whom they gave keys to the inner doors of the treasury but they did not give keys to the outer door. With what key will he enter? Although the Torah is the inner key, without fear of Heaven one cannot gain access to the genuine Torah. Similarly, Rabbi Yannai would proclaim: Woe unto one who does not have a courtyard, and who makes a fence for the courtyard, i.e., a person who lacks fear of Heaven and is nevertheless involved in Torah study. Rav Yehuda said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, only created His world so that people would fear before Him, as it is stated: “And God has so made it that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

בראשית י״ב:א׳-ד׳

(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יהוה אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃ (ב) וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃ (ג) וַאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ (ד) וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַבְרָ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר אֵלָיו֙ יהוה וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִתּ֖וֹ ל֑וֹט וְאַבְרָ֗ם בֶּן־חָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּצֵאת֖וֹ מֵחָרָֽן׃

Genesis 12:1-4

(1) GOD said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2)I will make of you a great nation,And I will bless you;I will make your name great,And you shall be a blessing. (3)I will bless those who bless youAnd curse the one who curses you;And all the families of the earthShall bless themselves by you.”(4) Abram went forth as GOD had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Awe in Hebrew

יָרֵא
(v) Hebrew: to fear, revere, be afraid (Qal) to fear, be afraid to stand in awe of, be awed to fear, reverence, honor, respect (Niphal) to be fearful, be dreadful, be feared to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe (Piel) to make afraid, terrify

רָאָה
(v) Hebrew: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider (Qal) to see to see, perceive to see, have vision to look at, see, regard, look after, see after, learn about, observe, watch, look upon, look out, find out to see, observe, consider, look at, give attention to, discern, distinguish to look at, gaze at (Niphal) to appear, present oneself to be seen to be visible (Pual) to be seen (Hiphil) to cause to see, show to cause to look intently at, behold, cause to gaze at (Hophal) to be caused to see, be shown to be exhibited to (Hithpael) to look at each other, face.

Awe in Thought

“When we stand in Awe, our lips do not demand speech, knowing that if we spoke, we would deprave ourselves. In such moments talk is an abomination. All we want is to pause, to be still, that the moment may last... The meaning of the things we revere is overwhelming and beyond the grasp of our understanding.” -Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

“The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good.” -Stanley Kubrick

We all have experienced it. The aha-moment. When we realized, recognized what had been right before our eyes, yet had not perceived. It turns things around, upside down, inside out. It changes everything, and most importantly it changes us.

These are moments we cannot help but remember. What was not recognizable becomes recognized and forever obvious. These moments happen to us. We don't make them happen. They are one of the best gifts Life gives us. Even though they can be quite painful . . .

To be truly alive is endless learning, and the best learnings are transformative, even revolutionary. We never arrive. For what there is to recognize is right before our eyes with ever more possibility for further recognition.

All that is asked is that we do not arrive at a final destination in our minds. That we do not cease to be open to finding out, discovering, recognizing what we did not see before. This requires a basic openness to being disturbed, because we can trust that disturbance is required for the beauty of “aha” moments and transformation. - Pastor John Marboe

Awe in Science

“Awe shifts our attention outward,” said Paul Piff, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and lead researcher of the study, in a press release. “When people encounter something vast, whether it’s a sweeping landscape or a powerful shared moment, they often begin to see themselves and their relationships differently. That’s what makes studying awe in real-world environments so important.”

Science got into the awe game really late,” says Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and the author of the new book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. ...

We said that awe is really an emotion you feel when you encounter something vast and mysterious that transcends your understanding of the world,” he says. The vastness part, he explains, doesn’t have to be literally vast, like a view from a mountaintop. It can be conceptually vast, like the anatomy of a bee or string theory or a late-night stoner realization that every mammal on earth must have a belly button.

Link for full articles: Outside Magazine

Awe in Action

דברים י׳:י״ב-י״ג

(יב) וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה יהוה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָ֠ה אֶת־יהוה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכׇל־דְּרָכָיו֙ וּלְאַהֲבָ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ וְלַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־יהוה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ (יג) לִשְׁמֹ֞ר אֶת־מִצְוֺ֤ת יהוה וְאֶת־חֻקֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם לְט֖וֹב לָֽךְ׃

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

(12) And now, O Israel, what does the ETERNAL your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the ETERNAL your God, to walk only in divine paths, to love and to serve the ETERNAL your God with all your heart and soul, (13) keeping GOD’s commandments and laws, which I enjoin upon you today, for your good.

Rabbi Simcha Bunam of Pzhysha once said to his students: “Everyone must have two pockets, so that he can reach into the one or the other, according to his needs. In his right pocket are to be the words: ‘For my sake was the world created,’ and in his left: ‘I am but dust and ashes.’ ” - Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Later Masters (New York: Schocken Books, 1961), pp. 249–250

Awe-Seeking

בראשית כ״ח:ט״ז-י״ז

(טז) וַיִּיקַ֣ץ יַעֲקֹב֮ מִשְּׁנָתוֹ֒ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָכֵן֙ יֵ֣שׁ יהוה בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֥א יָדָֽעְתִּי׃ (יז) וַיִּירָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר מַה־נּוֹרָ֖א הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה אֵ֣ין זֶ֗ה כִּ֚י אִם־בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְזֶ֖ה שַׁ֥עַר הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃

Genesis 28:16-17

(16) Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely GOD is present in this place, and I, I did not know it!” (17) Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.”

שמות ג׳:ג׳-ה׳

(ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אָסֻֽרָה־נָּ֣א וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה אֶת־הַמַּרְאֶ֥ה הַגָּדֹ֖ל הַזֶּ֑ה מַדּ֖וּעַ לֹא־יִבְעַ֥ר הַסְּנֶֽה׃ (ד) וַיַּ֥רְא יהוה כִּ֣י סָ֣ר לִרְא֑וֹת וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֵלָ֨יו אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֗ה וַיֹּ֛אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֥ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ (ה) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תִּקְרַ֣ב הֲלֹ֑ם שַׁל־נְעָלֶ֙יךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עוֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו אַדְמַת־קֹ֖דֶשׁ הֽוּא׃

Exodus 3:3-5

(3) Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?” (4) When GOD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” (5) And [God] said, “Do not come closer! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground!”

___________________________________________________________
This sheet was prepared for the Adventure Torah Online class from Adventure Judaism.

Alan Shavit-Lonstein