The Three Types of Fear in Judaism

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, a Montreal-based Chabad rabbi, wrote a beautiful piece in which he distinguished between two different Hebrew words for fear: pachad and yira. Pachad, he described, is the “gut-clenching, run-for-the-hills kind of fear.” In other words, pachad is a negative feeling, a dread. On the other hand, he defined yira as an awe, “the fear that elevates.” Yira is inspiring; it is a state of being where we experience a transcendence greater than ourselves. In this article, we will discuss some more differences between pachad and yira, as well as another term for fear: eima. By understanding the distinctions between these words, we will also bring various sources which explore whether or not feelings of fear are a contradiction to a Jew’s emuna and bitachon. 

In our Rosh Hashana tefillot, we pray for the truth to prevail in the world; that everyone should acknowledge Hashem as King. To achieve this dream, we pray for three different emotions: for pachad, yira and eima. First we ask ‘tein pachdecha… al kol ma’asecha’ (place pachad on Your works)  followed by ‘eimatcha al kol ma shebarata’ (eima on all that You created) and then ‘veyiraucha kol hama’asim.’ (all Your works will have yira). There is a distinction between maasim, what Hashem made and bru’im, what Hashem created. Maasim is a reference to the Jewish people while bru’im describes the nations of the world. From these tefillot, we see that pachad and yira engender a close relationship with Hashem, the level of relationship which can only exist between Hashem and the Jewish people. Conversely, eima is a more general fear and is not considered as difficult to attain or lofty, and can be achieved by anyone. We pray that we should achieve true pachad and yira and that the whole world should reach eima. 

Rav Reuven Klein¹ brings the words of different commentators to highlight some further distinctions between these terms. Rashi² says that pachad is a more sudden feeling of fear while yira is generally a pent-up feeling which grows over time. The Ibn Ezra³ explains that pachad is the external manifestation of a person’s fear whereas yira is the internalised feeling. Rashi comments earlier in Torah⁴ that the difference between the two could be that one refers to a faraway threat whereas the other points to an immediate fear, from something close by. 

However, while we understand the nuances between these different forms of fear, a Jew must ask themselves what degree of fear, if any, is appropriate. On the one hand, we are obligated to live with emuna and bitachon, to believe and know that Hashem is running the world for our good. This would imply that feeling scared is at odds with our emuna and bitachon, because if we truly internalised that Hashem has our wellbeing at heart, we would have nothing to fear. Nothing that happens is considered ultimately ‘bad’ by Hashem and this should calm us. 

David Hamelech wrote in Tehillim⁵ מִשְּׁמוּעָ֣ה רָ֭עָה לֹ֣א יִירָ֑א נָכ֥וֹן לִ֝בּ֗וֹ בָּטֻ֥חַ בַּהֹ ‘He is not afraid of evil tidings, his heart is firm, he trusts in Hashem.’ This description seems to depict the ideal state, where we are not scared of anything that could happen because we surrender to Hashem and His absolute knowledge of what is good for us. The highest level of trust therefore is as Rabbi Akiva said ‘all that the Merciful One does is good.’ Rabbi Akiva epitomised this as much by his death and he did in his lifetime, he died with the joyous cry of Shema Yisrael on his lips, even while experiencing physical torture, teaching the Jewish people eternally that the greatest level of existence is when we internalise so deeply that all Hashem does is good, that there is no emotional room for distress.

On the other hand, we have pesukim which tell us that tzadikim did feel scared at points. When Yaakov saw Esav approaching with 400 men, the verse tells us ‘Yaakov became very distressed.’ If the highest level is to feel no fear because of the overpowering emotional clarity that all Hashem does is good, how did the tzaddik Yaakov feel afraid? The Abarbanel⁶ explains that Yaakov’s fear does not indicate a lack of bitachon, rather he was recognising and feeling the danger he was in and together with that, he had bitachon. Bravery in war does not mean ignoring the enemy, it means knowing what we are up against and fighting anyway. Without contemplating the risk to his life, Yaakov’s bitachon would have been meaningless. True faith is not hiding away from what confronts us, but immersing ourselves in it and still feeling Hashem’s care for us. 

Fear in Torah life can also be motivating. Fear over our lack of zechuyot (merit) or lack of perfection should drive us to do teshuva. If we feel afraid at a time of danger, we can use this to propel us to increase our Torah, our tefilla and our ma’asim tovim. These can protect us from harm.

The Chazon Ish felt it was important to understand that bitachon does not mean we are relaxed because things will go our way. We can feel great fear at times of danger, but all the while know that Hashem won’t do anything that is ultimately bad for us. This is a primary point which the Chazon Ish clarified in his Sefer, Emuna UBitachon. We sometimes convince ourselves that if we were righteous we would never feel nervous because life will be good. But this is not the case. Hashem does not demand or expect us to hide from reality: events can scare us, wars can be unsettling, we are not meant to block or deny our feelings. Sefer Tehillim is full of David Hamelech’s feelings of distress, fear and desperation. This is not a contradiction to his rock-solid emuna and bitachon. It is part of it. Together with David Hamelech’s clarity that Hashem only does what is beneficial for him, he also felt the immediate danger which surrounded him for many of the challenges in his lifetime. 

Fear in Torah life can also be motivating. Fear over our lack of zechuyot (merit) or lack of perfection should drive us to do teshuva. If we feel afraid at a time of danger, we can use this to propel us to increase our Torah, our tefilla and our ma’asim tovim. These can protect us from harm. Our sins can frighten us because they could make a person unworthy of being saved, G-d forbid. But, once we know that we are moving forward in our growth, we will be able to feel a true sense of serenity and calm.

The ultimate fear is of course fear of Hashem, yirat shamayim. This is the highest level in many of the mussar books and true yirat shamayim endears us to Hashem and compels Him to protect us. We daven each day in Ashrei “the desire of those who fear Him, He will do.” For a person who has true awe of Hashem and His kingship, Hashem will fulfill this person’s desires. May we merit to feel the duality of fear and faith, and channel our fear towards closeness with Hashem and awe of His majesty, always. 

¹ Essay ‘Afraid of Fright or Ready to Fight?’, Ohr.edu

² Devarim 11:25

³ Shemos 23:27

⁴ Shemos 15:16

⁵ 112:7

⁶ Quoted in essay by Shlomo Katz ‘It’s Okay to be Afraid’ torah.org