The Purpose of Fear: Why G-d Planted It Within Us

While feeling fear and worry can be uncomfortable or disturbing, G-d created fear in a person for good reasons.

1. A person will fear violating G-d's will out of concern for punishment. 

Indeed, we see this in the Generation of the Flood. People lived long lives—up to eight hundred years and more—and fear was a distant concern. They would tell themselves: “I still have many years before I’ll have to give an account before G-d.” At that time, illnesses didn’t exist either. The result was catastrophic: “For all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12). The entire world, except for Noah, betrayed the Creator and corrupted their actions.

Our sages explain in the Midrash (Tanchuma, Bereishit, sec. 40) that because people were physically strong, prosperous (they only needed to sow once every forty years), and never became ill, they had nothing to fear. When a person has no fear, he throws off the yoke of Heaven and may fall into grave sins.

2. To Protect From Danger

A person fears walking on the edge of a high rooftop, worried he might fall. Without fear, he would endanger himself. Similarly, fear of wild animals keeps people from putting themselves in risky situations. The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (3:2) teaches: “Without fear of authority, people would swallow each other alive.” Fear of punishment by the government stops people from murder, theft, or other crimes. If people didn’t fear traffic cameras or police, our roads would be chaos.

Fear of disease causes people to avoid spoiled or unhealthy food, to maintain a healthy lifestyle, to dress warmly in winter, or even to get vaccinated.

What Should We Fear?

Does G-d want us to fear anything else? The Talmud (Berachot 60a) addresses this with an apparent contradiction: Proverbs (28:14) says “Happy is the man who always fears”, implying constant fear is good. But Isaiah (33:14) says “Sinners in Zion are afraid”, implying only sinners should fear.

The Talmud resolves this: “That verse (in Proverbs) refers to words of Torah.”

According to Rashi’s explanations, we should only fear two things:

1. Forgetting Torah we have already learned, prompting us to constantly review and keep it fluent on our lips.

2. The consequences of our actions, especially when related to harming another person.

For example, in Tractate Gittin (55b), the Talmud recounts the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. The host who humiliated Bar Kamtza in public was overconfident in his wealth and connections and lacked fear of the consequences. That moment of arrogance ultimately led to the destruction of the Temple.

The right kind of fear is fear of sin and its consequences. A person should be afraid to hurt their spouse, fearing the divine consequences. If one is about to do something that might desecrate G-d's name in public, they should be afraid of the result. This applies to all the commandments. Fear of violating them is not only appropriate, but essential.

Examples of Constructive Worry

There are many examples of healthy concern. As the classic book Orchot Tzaddikim (Gate of Worry) explains:

• If one hasn’t repaid a loan on time, lest they be called “a wicked borrower who does not repay.”

• If they’ve stolen and not yet returned what was taken.

• If they’re not observing Shabbat properly—why hasn’t G-d helped them yet? Perhaps they haven’t yet learned the beauty and laws of Shabbat.

• If they’re not setting daily times for Torah study—this will be the first question asked in the World of Truth: “Did you set times for Torah study?”

• A woman not dressing modestly should worry: Why haven’t I yet merited to understand the greatness of modesty?

Respecting Others

Another appropriate worry is: Are we disrespecting others?

Maybe we’re speaking badly about fellow Jews, or perhaps we’re harboring negative traits like arrogance or envy. For each mitzvah or sin, worry rooted in a desire to fulfill G-d’s will is valid and important.

Any other kind of worry is not only unhelpful, but can actually be harmful.

As Job himself said (Job 3:25): “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.” Job was immensely wealthy, blessed with righteous children, and all his endeavors were successful. Deep inside however, he was constantly anxious—“Maybe I’ll lose my wealth… maybe I’ll lose my children… maybe my health…” This is what we might call today “negative thinking.” In the end, his fears materialized: he lost his wealth, his children, and even his health.