Our Gemara on Amud Aleph tells us about an encounter between Rava and a Gentile, Bar Sheshakh, who was not an idolator, but may have been an atheist, cynical of all religion:
Rava brought a gift to a minister named Bar Sheshakh on their festival day. Rava said: I know of him that he does not worship idols. Rava went to him and found him sitting up to his neck in rose water, with naked prostitutes standing before him.
Bar Sheshakh said to him: “Do you have anything as fine as this in the World-to-Come?” Rava said to him: “Ours is better than this.”
Bar Sheshakh said: “Is there anything finer than this?”
Rava said: “You have the fear of the government upon you; we will not have the fear of the government upon us in the World-to-Come.”
Bar Sheshakh said to him: “As for me, in any event, what fear of the government is there upon me? I am a powerful man.”
While they were sitting, a certain royal officer [peristaka] came and said to Bar Sheshakh: “Rise, as the king requires you to appear before him.” As he was going out, he said to Rava: “May any eye that wishes to see evil upon you burst, as it is clear that you were correct.”
Rava said to him: “Amen.” And then Bar Sheshakh’s eye burst.
Resise Layla (54) expands on the sentiment expressed in this aggadah. Bar Sheshakh — even if he did not realize it — suffered under fear of the local dictator. However, a Jew has no fear because God is his King. This is what is meant in the High Holiday liturgy: “Uv’chein tein pachdecha al kol ma’asecha” — “And indeed let Your fear be upon all of Your creations.”
To illustrate, I heard a story about Rav Soloveitchik on a Rabbi Rosner Daf Yomi Shiur. A prominent psychologist asked the Rav:
“In the High Holiday services, we pray that God’s fear should be upon all creations. Psychologically speaking, fear and anxiety are destructive forces, making people ill. Why would we pray for that?”
The Rav answered: “If you have only the fear of God upon you, you are free from other fears and anxieties.”
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com