Ki Tavo: Fear vs. Awe

Description

Is the world afraid of the Jewish people?

Are the Jewish people afraid of the Jewish people?

In this week’s reading, Parshat Ki Tavo, the Torah states:

Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is associated with you, and they will fear you.

How will all the peoples of the world – all, not some – see that G-d’s name is associated with us? And what does it mean that they will fear us?

Fear is not terror – terror is being afraid of something dangerous and detrimental. Fear is awe. Fear is reverence. It happens when one stands before something greater than oneself.

Like a rabbi standing before his audience …

Have you ever been afraid of speaking in public, of giving a sermon? This sermon – which addresses the mitzvah of tefillin in great detail – will teach you how to give a sermon not in fear but in awe of the One greater than us all!

Two powerful stories about tefillin capture this awe.