Perhaps the key term in musar writing is yir’ah. In early modern musar texts, usually incorporating kabbalistic discourse, this term is rendered as ‘fear.’ A striking exception is R. Moshe Ḥayyim Luzzatto’s Mesillat Yesharim, arguably one of the canonical texts of Jewish modernity. A close reading of the chapters devoted to yir’ah reveals that Luzzatto frames this term as ‘awe,’ moving away from the discourse on punishment and hell typical of early modern musar. An examination of the psychology behind this move shows that Luzzatto associates fear with the lower instinct of self-preservation, calling for its sublimation into self-abnegation in awe of divine presence. Mesillat Yesharim then became foundational for similar moves in later Jewish modernity. Without wishing to venture into claims as to inter-religious influence and response, it is instructive to compare Luzzatto’s approach to that of his Christian contemporaries, the ‘fire and brimstone’ preachers of the Great Awakening.

穆萨尔文写作中的关键术语也许是yir'ah。在早期的现代穆萨尔文字中，通常结合了卡巴拉式的话语，该术语被称为“恐惧”。著名的例外是R. MosheḤayyimLuzzatto的Mesillat Yesharim，可以说是犹太现代性的经典著作之一。仔细阅读有关yir'ah的章节，可以发现Luzzatto将这个词形容为“敬畏”，从而摆脱了现代摩萨尔人典型的惩罚和地狱的论述。对这一举动背后的心理学的研究表明，卢扎托将恐惧与自我保护的较低本能联系在一起，呼吁在敬畏上帝的存在下将其升华为自我排斥。Mesillat Yesharim随后成为后来的犹太现代主义类似举动的基础。不希望冒充宗教间影响和回应的主张，将卢扎托的方法与他的同时代基督徒，大觉醒的“烈火和硫磺”传教士的方法进行比较是有启发性的。