I heard in a shiur where the speaker said that back in Europe the Mashgiach would cry out "ELULLL" and people would shake with fear. BUT, we don't need that anymore today. That was for galus. Now we are in Eretz Yisrael.
WOW!
Hard for me to disagree more. EXACTLY what we need is more Yiras Shomayim and Yiras Cheyt [in addition to even more Ahavas Hashem and Ahavas Torah and Ahavas Habriyos]. Who is AFRAID of an aveirah? Who believes that aveiros cause cancer [they do!!]? Who believes in Gehenom and lives with that עונש in mind? Not in a neurotic way but in a healthy way. Any benefit I will get from doing something immoral [everything against the will of the Creator is in a sense immoral] is not worth it b/c of the consequences. It keeps a person in check! When you live in line with your values you are a happier person. Being mindful of the harm I am doing myself when I stray helps me accomplish that.
מצוות עשה, ד׳
היא שצונו להאמין יראתו יתעלה ולהפחד ממנו, ולא נהיה ככופרים ההולכים בשרירות לבם ובקרי אבל נירא ביראת ענשו בכל עת וזהו אמרו את ה' אלהיך תירא, ובגמרא (סנהדרין נ"ו) אמרו על דרך ויכוח באמרו ונוקב שם ה' מות יומת ואימר פירש דכתיב אשר נקבו בשמות ואזהרתיה מן את ה' אלהיך תירא, רוצה לומר אולי אמרו ונוקב שם ה' הוא שיזכיר השם לבד מבלתי שיברך, ואם תאמר אי זה עון בזה נאמר כי הוא עזב היראה כי מיראת השם שלא יזכיר שמו לבטלה, היה המענה על זאת השאלה ודחיית זה המאמר ואמר חדא דבעינא שם בשם וליכא, ורוצה לומר שיברך השם בשם כמו שאמרו יכה יוסי את יוסי, ועוד אזהרת עשה היא וכל אזהרת עשה לא שמה אזהרה, רוצה לומר שזה שאמרת אזהרתיה מאת ה' אלהיך תירא אינו אזהרה כי הוא צווי והוא מצות עשה ואין מזהירין בעשה. הנה נתבאר לך כי אמרו את ה' אלהיך תירא זו מצות עשה. (בפרשת עקב, מדע הלכות יסודי התורה):
That is that He commanded us to believe in His awe, may He be exalted, and to be afraid of Him. And we should not be like the heretics who walk brazen-heartedly and heedlessly, but should be scared with the fear of His punishment at all times. And that is His saying, "And you shall fear the Lord, your God." And in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 56a), they said by way of give and take about His saying, "And if he pronounces (nokev) the name, Lord, he shall be put to death" (Leviticus 24:16) - "Say that [nokev] is to mention, as it is stated (Numbers 1:17), 'who were mentioned (nikvu) by name,' and its prohibition is from, 'And you shall fear the Lord, your God.'" That is to say, maybe His saying, "And if he pronounces," is only that he mention [God's] name [even] without cursing. And if you will say, "What transgression is there in that" - we will say that it is because he neglected fear. For included in the fear of God is not to mention His name gratuitously. The answer to this question, and its rejection, was, "First, you need the name with the name" - as they said, "Yossi should smite Yossi" - "and also, that this is [only] a prohibition of a positive commandment. And any prohibition of a positive commandment is not called a prohibition" - for it is a command and a positive commandment, and we cannot prohibit with a positive commandment. Behold it has been made clear to you that His saying, "And you shall fear the Lord, your God," is a positive commandment. (See Parashat Ekev; Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah.)
Yiras Ha-onesh is a מצוה מדאורייתא!
And who lives with Yiras HaRommemus, the higher Yirah? A constant sense of awe in the presence of Hashem. That ALSO keeps a person in check in addition to elevating his speech, thought and behavior.
There are a LOT of good things to be said about this generation. So much Torah learning, so much kosher food, mikvaos and easily accessible opportunities for religious practice and growth. But what we could use a lot more of is יראת העונש and יראת הרוממות.
