יראה can be translated as either fear or awe.
This entry is severely incomplete.
Definition
Yirah can be attained in two ways: through fear itself, or through ahavah (love). When a person approaches Torah with fear, the instinctive reaction is to step back. The deeper the love for the Almighty, the greater the fear of separation. Not fear of punishment, not fear of distance, but fear of losing the connection itself. And when awe comes from love, the response from above is different. This isn't just another way—it's the way. The superior path. The one that draws down the deepest divine revelation.
There are two types of fear: yirah tataah (“lower fear”) and yirah ilaah (“higher fear”). Yirah tataah is directed toward the fulfillment of His commandments, in both areas of “Turn away from evil and do good”. It comprises a quality of “smallness” and a quality of “greatness,” the latter being the quality of fear that has its origin in contemplation on the greatness of G–d. As for the yirah ilaah, however, [it is] a fear stemming from a sense of shame, an inner fear that derives from the inward aspects of G–dliness within the worlds.[1]
Ahava Mesuteres is called “the fear contained within love”.
Teachings of the Rebbeim
They who occupy themselves with Torah and commandments in fear and love are called “children”; otherwise they are called “fledglings” that cannot fly.[2]
See also
References