Mitzvah Reference Notes

“Mitzvah #5 — To Fear Hashem: When Knowledge Is No Longer Enough”

Mitzvah #1 — To Know There Is a G-d

(Exodus 20:2)

אָנֹכִי ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ

Parshas Va’eira demonstrates that knowledge of Hashem can be complete and still ineffective. Pharaoh recognizes Hashem’s power and righteousness, yet refuses submission. This mitzvah establishes awareness as foundational—but insufficient without yirah to translate knowledge into obligation.

Mitzvah #5 — To Fear Hashem

(Deuteronomy 10:20)

אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ תִּירָא

Fear of Hashem is the submission of will to truth. Moshe’s declaration—טֶרֶם תִּירְאוּן מִפְּנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹקִים—exposes Pharaoh’s core failure: terror and confession without allegiance. Yirah is not emotion; it is enduring acceptance of Divine authority.

Mitzvah #9 — To Listen to the Prophet Speaking in His Name

(Deuteronomy 18:15)

אֵלָיו תִּשְׁמָעוּן

Pharaoh hears Moshe repeatedly and even acknowledges the truth of his words, yet treats prophecy as negotiable. This mitzvah clarifies that listening means obedience born of fear; without yirah, prophecy becomes information rather than command.

Mitzvah #11 — To Walk in His Ways

(Deuteronomy 28:9)

וְהָלַכְתָּ בִּדְרָכָיו

Hashem’s conduct in Va’eira models patience paired with accountability. Israel is commanded to emulate this balance—cultivating fear that stabilizes behavior over time rather than relying on momentary inspiration or pressure.

Mitzvah #121 — To Cry Out to Hashem in Times of Distress

(Numbers 10:9)

וַהֲרֵעֹתֶם בַּחֲצֹצְרוֹת

Pharaoh cries out under duress but does not transform. The mitzvah distinguishes between pleas for relief and cries of submission. Without yirah, outcry dissipates once suffering ends, leaving behavior unchanged.

Parsha Reference Notes

“Mitzvah #5 — To Fear Hashem: When Knowledge Is No Longer Enough”

Parshas Va’eira (Shemos 9:27–30; 10:1–2)

Parshas Va’eira draws a sharp distinction between acknowledgment of truth and submission to it. Pharaoh explicitly admits wrongdoing—חָטָאתִי הַפָּעַם—and recognizes Hashem’s righteousness. Yet Moshe responds with a devastating assessment: טֶרֶם תִּירְאוּן מִפְּנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹקִים—“you do not yet fear Hashem.” The parsha thus establishes that awareness and confession, even when sincere in the moment, do not constitute yirah.

The narrative underscores this gap through Pharaoh’s repeated cycle of repentance during suffering and defiance during relief. Knowledge of Hashem’s power is present; fear of His authority is absent. By stating לְמַעַן שִׁתִי אֹתֹתַי אֵלֶּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ—that the signs are placed “within him”—the Torah emphasizes that the plagues are meant to transform inner orientation, not merely compel outward compliance.

Va’eira therefore teaches that fear of Hashem is the bridge between truth and obligation. Without yirah, knowledge remains negotiable and freedom unstable. The parsha frames Mitzvah #5 as essential to redemption: only when recognition matures into submission can liberation endure beyond moments of pressure.

Parshas Eikev (Devarim 10:12–13; 10:20; 11:1)

Parshas Eikev contains the Torah’s clearest and most direct articulation of the mitzvah to fear Hashem. Moshe frames yirah not as an abstract emotion, but as the foundation of covenantal life:

וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם־לְיִרְאָה אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ
“And now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you? Only to fear Hashem your G-d, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him…”

Here, fear of Hashem is presented as the first demand, from which love, obedience, and moral conduct flow. Yirah is not portrayed as terror or dread, but as recognition of Divine authority that orders life and binds behavior.

Later in the parsha, Moshe reiterates:

אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ תִּירָא אֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד וּבוֹ תִדְבָּק
“Hashem your G-d you shall fear; Him you shall serve, and to Him you shall cleave.”

Parshas Eikev thus defines fear of Hashem as the stabilizing force that preserves freedom once miracles have ended. Unlike Va’eira—where yirah is revealed through contrast and failure—Eikev articulates yirah as an explicit command necessary for life in the land, in a world governed by responsibility rather than revelation.

Together, Va’eira and Eikev form a complete arc:
Va’eira shows what happens when fear is absent despite clarity;
Eikev commands the fear required to sustain covenantal freedom after clarity fades.

This makes Parshas Eikev the essential textual anchor for Mitzvah #5 — To Fear Hashem, grounding the psychological and narrative lessons of Va’eira in an explicit, enduring command.