The Trait of Fear Itself is Fear of Hashem

Likutey Moharan 148 The Trait of Fear Itself is Fear of Hashem The trait of fear — in and of itself — is fear of Hashem, Blessed be He. And if that is so, then this fear itself must also possess fear. And that second-level fear is also fear of Hashem. And if that is so, then it too has fear — and so on, each level of fear is included within another, rising upward and upward endlessly. This is what our Rabbis of blessed memory said ( Tanchuma , Devarim 1; Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1; Yerushalmi, Shabbat Chapter 1 — see Pnei Moshe): “What humility made a heel to frivolity, wisdom made a crown upon her head,” as it is written: “The heel of humility is the fear of Hashem” and “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem” (Proverbs 22:4, Psalms 111:10). It follows that the heel of humility is fear of God. And likewise, the beginning of wisdom is also fear. Therefore, there exists a level of fear above fear, for fear itself has another layer of fear, and this continues — upward, ever upward — to infinity, as described above.