Written & Animated by Hanan Harchol
Jewish Food For Thought: The Animated Series was created with generous funding by The Covenant Foundation
Study guide by Beth Huppin
Opportunities to experience awe exist everywhere. Awe enriches our lives, creating openings for meaning, love, joy, wisdom, and connection to a mystery larger than ourselves. Too often, however, we don’t pay attention, and we miss these life-enriching opportunities. The animation examines the importance of awe and suggests ways to help us bring awareness to everyday wonders. This study guide takes us on a journey through a few of the many Jewish sources on the topic of awe.
Perspective
The animation opens with Daddy and Hanan gazing at the stars.
HANAN It’s pretty awesome.
DADDY It really puts things in perspective, doesn’t it Hanan?
Our ability to experience awe is deeply connected to our perspective of the world around us. On one hand, experiences of awe change our perspective. On the other hand, when we change our perspective on something, we see it anew, providing an opportunity for experiencing awe. The Torah has many examples of how a change of perspective produces an awe-inspiring experience. Here are two of them:
Jacob: Jacob fled from his parents’ home, in fear of his brother, Esau, after tricking his father into giving him Esau’s blessing. Jacob went to sleep, alone, and when he woke, this is what he said:
(טז) וַיִּיקַ֣ץ יַעֲקֹב֮ מִשְּׁנָתוֹ֒ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָכֵן֙ יֵ֣שׁ יְהֹוָ֔ה בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֥א יָדָֽעְתִּי׃ (יז) וַיִּירָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר מַה־נּוֹרָ֖א הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה אֵ֣ין זֶ֗ה כִּ֚י אִם־בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְזֶ֖ה שַׁ֥עַר הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
(16) Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely יהוה is present in this place, and I did not know it!” (17) Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.”
Jacob went to sleep without noticing God’s presence. After a night filled with dreams of angels ascending and descending a ladder, he woke with a new awareness, able to see that which he hadn’t seen before the dream. His perspective changed and he became filled with awe.
Moses: After killing an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite, Moses fled Egypt to Midian, afraid for his life. He then married, became a shepherd and worked for his father-in-law. One day, while tending to the sheep, alone and far from home, he noticed something unusual.
(ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אָסֻֽרָה־נָּ֣א וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה אֶת־הַמַּרְאֶ֥ה הַגָּדֹ֖ל הַזֶּ֑ה מַדּ֖וּעַ לֹא־יִבְעַ֥ר הַסְּנֶֽה׃ (ד) וַיַּ֥רְא יְהֹוָ֖ה כִּ֣י סָ֣ר לִרְא֑וֹת וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֵלָ֨יו אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֗ה וַיֹּ֛אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֥ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ (ה) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תִּקְרַ֣ב הֲלֹ֑ם שַׁל־נְעָלֶ֙יךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עוֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו אַדְמַת־קֹ֖דֶשׁ הֽוּא׃
(3) Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?” (4) When יהוה saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” (5) And [God] said, “Do not come closer! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground!”
Curiosity is a key element that makes space for us to change our perspective. Moses’ curiosity allowed him to change his perspective. It is only when God saw that Moses “turned aside to look” that God spoke to him, and that moment was a turning point in his life.
Questions for thought/discussion:
Moses and Jacob both had moments of encounter with a power greater than themselves when they were away from their homes, fleeing in fear of their lives, and far from the danger from which they fled. In addition, both were alone in these awesome moments.
Before we go further in this study-guide, the word “God” requires examination, as it will appear in a number of our texts:
For both Jacob and Moses, God-awareness enters as a result of their change of perspective and an encounter with God. In both cases, God is a word that points to a deep and profound sense of a Source of Mystery.
Often, our texts do not distinguish between “awe” and “awe of God” since they understand the experience of awe as directly related to a connection to something greater than ourselves, which they call “God.”
Does the word “God” help you understand awe or is that word problematic for you? If it is problematic, does “Source of Mystery” or ‘Mystery” or “Divine” work better? Is there another word you prefer to use to describe that which is greater than us?
If the word “God” is problematic for you, we encourage you to use the word for “that which is greater than us” that works for you throughout the remainder of this study-guide.
Engagement as Response to the Overwhelming Experience of Awe
Daddy admits that awe can result in intimidation and being overwhelmed. Daddy’s advice is to embrace the awe and engage with it, especially when we don’t understand it.
HANAN It’s overwhelming...even a little intimidating. I mean, what are we, compared to all the stars and galaxies? It makes me feel so insignificant.
DADDY It depends on how you see it. On the one hand, you’re right. We’re just an infinitesimal speck of dust. On the other hand, we each have a very important role as well.
HANAN Which is?
DADDY To engage with it.
HANAN I don’t understand.
DADDY Oh! That’s a good start!
Rabbi Pollack addresses this issue below. She acknowledges the vulnerability involved with opening to wonder and awe, and yet, “we are creatures of wonder and awe.” It is who we are. Although she doesn’t say this explicitly, the implication is that to embrace our own humanity, we must engage with “the mysterious experience of the holy that fills our world,” in spite of our natural fears.
As human beings we are creatures of awe and wonder. At the same time, we are fearful of what we experience as wondrous, but cannot understand. The edge between fear and awe is razor thin; fear and awe are two sides of the same balance beam. We are at once fearful, because of the extent of our vulnerability, and at the same time awed at the mysterious experience of the holy that fills our world.
This Talmud text suggests that the world was created so that humans could experience awe.
אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: לֹא בָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ אֶלָּא כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּירְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְהָאֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה שֶׁיִּירְאוּ מִלְּפָנָיו״.
Rav Yehuda said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, only created His world so that people would fear before Him, as it is stated: “And God has so made it that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
If experiencing awe is our purpose, then we must engage with it in order to realize our potential as humans, even if we are afraid or don’t understand.
Questions for thought/discussion:
- What might “engaging with awe” look like?
- Have you ever felt overwhelmed by awe? If so, can you describe that experience? How did you respond?
- How might “not understanding” be a good start for engaging with awe?
Being Both Intimidated and Amazed = Awe/Yirah יראה
HANAN I don’t know, I’m simultaneously overwhelmed by, and drawn to it...it’s so strange...how can we be both intimidated and amazed by something at the same time? ?
DADDY That’s what we call in Hebrew Yirah.
The Hebrew root for awe is yod, resh, aleph - ירא. This Hebrew root can also mean “fear.” There are other Hebrew roots for fear, but only this root also means awe. Awe, by definition, involves fear, which is why we often stay away from awe and stick with the familiar. Awe takes us into a world we don’t understand. It can be frightening to admit we don’t know. In addition, engaging with awe can change us, and change scares us because we don’t know what change will look like. But the fear that is related to awe is a healthy, productive fear.
Awe/Yirah יראה Leads to Connection, Love, Joy
HANAN I don’t understand.
DADDY Oh! That’s a good start! It begins with not understanding, which is scary.
HANAN (pausing to think it over) ...wait, do you mean like...part of the thrill of riding a roller coaster is the fear and anticipation?
DADDY Tzzz, not exactly, it’s much more than a thrill, Hanan. It’s an opportunity to connect with something much larger than yourself...for example, do you remember when your son was born?
HANAN It’s seared in my memory.
DADDY Was it overwhelming? Intimidating?
HANAN Of course.
DADDY Even a little scary
HANAN I guess, but in a good way. I never felt so much joy and love...and yet I burst into tears. I couldn’t control myself. I was overwhelmed with emotion...I can’t really explain it.
DADDY You were experiencing a connection to something much larger than yourself. It’s scary and overwhelming, but also mysterious...and amazing.
Daddy explains that fear connected to awe is more than a thrill. It is an opportunity to connect with something more than us, something outside of ourselves. True awe results in joy and love.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel explains the relationship between fear and awe.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, page 77
"Fear is the anticipation and expectation of evil or pain, as contrasted with hope which is the anticipation of good. Awe, on the other hand, is the sense of wonder and humility inspired by the sublime or felt in the presence of mystery…Awe, unlike fear, does not make us shrink from the awe-inspiring object, but on the contrary, draws us near to it. This is why awe is compatible with both love and joy. In a sense, awe is the antithesis of fear."
Heschel assures us that awe, unlike fear, is compatible with and even necessary for both love and joy.
Seder Eliyahu Rabba teaches the same connection between awe and love.
(א) עוד אמר דוד המלך ע"ה אני יראתי מתוך שמחתי ושמחתי מתוך יראתי ואהבתי עלתה על כלם
I felt awe within my joy, and I felt joy within my awe, and my love prevailed over all else.
Questions for Thought/Discussion
- How do you understand awe in relation to love and joy?
- Discuss Heschel’s description of awe as opposed to fear. How does he understand the difference?
Yirah as the Path to Wisdom
Daddy responds to Hanan’s description of his son’s birth as a way of talking about yirah/awe as a path to wisdom.
DADDY … What you experienced when your son was born was just a glimpse, just a brief encounter. But Yirah has so much more potential. Yirah can be the pathway to wisdom.
HANAN So...having babies makes me wise?
DADDY Again, it depends what you do with the experience. Having your son gave you a peek into the power of Yirah, but in order to get to wisdom, you have to engage with it.
Daddy explains to Hanan that engaging with yirah is not only the path to greater connection, love, and joy, it is also the path to wisdom. There are numerous places in Jewish texts that point out the connection between awe and wisdom. Here are a couple:
(י) רֵ֘אשִׁ֤ית חׇכְמָ֨ה ׀ יִרְאַ֬ת יְהֹוָ֗ה שֵׂ֣כֶל ט֭וֹב לְכׇל־עֹֽשֵׂיהֶ֑ם תְּ֝הִלָּת֗וֹ עֹמֶ֥דֶת לָעַֽד׃ {פ}
(10) The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD;all who practice it gain sound understanding.Praise of Him is everlasting.
...אִם אֵין חָכְמָה, אֵין יִרְאָה. אִם אֵין יִרְאָה, אֵין חָכְמָה...
Where there is no wisdom, there is no awe.
Where there is no awe, there is no wisdom.
Heschel summarizes the connection between awe and wisdom in this way:
Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, page 78
"There is only one way to wisdom: awe…The loss of awe is the great block to insight…Wisdom comes from awe rather than from shrewdness. It is evoked not in moments of calculation but in moments of being in rapport with the mystery of reality. The greatest insights happen to us in moments of awe."
Questions for thought/discussion:
- Heschel writes that the “greatest insights happen to us in moments of awe.” Can you think of examples of this in your own life?
- How do you understand the connection between awe and wisdom?
- What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Can you give examples?
Awe in the “Ordinary” – A Reminder to Change our Perspective at Any Moment
Daddy reminds Hanan that yirah/awe can be found everywhere. The key is perspective. One can experience awe in everything, just by a change of perspective.
DADDY Tzzz, but don’t you see Hanan, we’re experiencing Yirah right now. In fact, you can actually find Yirah everywhere. Even in things that you thought were the simplest things. It’s all about perspective.
As an example, Daddy tells a story about an exhibit of a pile of candy in a museum he visited. At first, he only saw a pile of candy, but when he read the explanation of this art installation, his perspective on that pile of candy changed, and his heart opened to awe, to connection, to wisdom.
DADDY: …The title of the art piece was Portrait of Ross in L.A. And it explains that the artist who created this installation had a boyfriend named Ross, who contracted AIDS. The pile of candy at its maximum is 175 pounds, which was the weight of Ross when he was healthy, before he withered away from AIDS. And as we eat the sweet candy, we witness, and participate in, the slow decay of Ross’s body…You see Hanan, if you change your perspective, you can discover Yirah in all things, even a small piece of candy
We think we understand something, but we only understand it from our own perspective. When we change our perspective even just a little bit, we realize how much we don’t know.
"Here, I think, is the core of Yirah: not an emotion, not a mystical experience per se, but a stance, an orientation to the world."
Questions for thought/discussion:
- How do you understand yirah as “a stance, an orientation to the world?” Can you give an example?
- Often it is hard for humans to change our orientation to the world. Why is that?
- When has seeing something from a new perspective profoundly changed how you understand something?
Yirah = Ability to be in Relationship With, to See, or to Be Seen by Something Larger Than Ourselves
DADDY You know Hanan, I forgot to tell you one more important thing. In Hebrew, the way you spell Yirah is also the way you spell Yireh.
HANAN Which means?
DADDY To see. Yirah allows us to be in relationship with, to see, or to be seen by, something larger than ourselves. We just have to pay attention
In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. As Abraham is about to carry out this shocking act, the angel stops him, acknowledging that Abraham has yirah of God, and as happens other times in the Torah, the experience of yirah prevents murder. The angel’s mention of Abraham’s yirah changes Abraham’s perspective, and only then does he turn, see a ram, and sacrifice it in place of his son.
It is here that we can see the connection between the word for awe (yirah) and the word for see (yireh) The Hebrew roots are different (awe-ירא and see-ראה) but the full words are spelled the same, distinguished only by the vowels. This is what both words look like without vowels: יראה. The midrashic/interpretive connection is not by chance. At the moment when Abraham is acknowledged as experiencing awe, he sees and is seen. Here are the verses:
(יב) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַל־תִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָֽדְךָ֙ אֶל־הַנַּ֔עַר וְאַל־תַּ֥עַשׂ ל֖וֹ מְא֑וּמָה כִּ֣י ׀ עַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־יְרֵ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אַ֔תָּה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֛כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ (יג) וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּרְא֙ וְהִנֵּה־אַ֔יִל אַחַ֕ר נֶאֱחַ֥ז בַּסְּבַ֖ךְ בְּקַרְנָ֑יו וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ אַבְרָהָם֙ וַיִּקַּ֣ח אֶת־הָאַ֔יִל וַיַּעֲלֵ֥הוּ לְעֹלָ֖ה תַּ֥חַת בְּנֽוֹ׃ (יד) וַיִּקְרָ֧א אַבְרָהָ֛ם שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא יְהֹוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֙ יֵאָמֵ֣ר הַיּ֔וֹם בְּהַ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה יֵרָאֶֽה׃
(12) “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.” (13) When Abraham looked up, his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. (14) And Abraham named that site Adonai-yireh, whence the present saying, “On the mount of יהוה there is vision.”
Heschel describes the relationship between awe and a connection to something greater than us.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, page 74
"Ultimate meaning and ultimate wisdom are not found within the world but in God, and the only way to wisdom is…through our relationship to God. That relationship is awe. Awe, in this sense is more than an emotion; it is a way of understanding. Awe is itself an act of insight into a meaning greater than ourselves."
Here Heschel writes about awe as the definition of our relationship to that which is much greater than ourselves. It is through that “mystery” that Heschel understands the word “God”. Our relationship to God/the Source of Mystery is awe. For him, the relationship we have with that which is Greater than ourselves is the definition of awe.
Questions for thought/discussion:
- Heschel says that awe is “more than an emotion; it is a way of understanding.” If it is “more than” emotion, is awe also related to emotion?
- Explain how you understand awe as “a way of understanding.”
- How do you understand Heschel’s view that our relationship to that which is greater than us is the definition of awe?
Awe as a source of moral behavior
As noted in the description of Abraham’s sacrifice of the ram instead of his son, yirah in the Torah is often connected to moral behavior. When we know that there is something greater than us, then we are never truly alone. This story helps us understand the power of awe as a moral guide. It also helps us understand the connection between awe and being seen.
Once, said Reb Zalman, there was a Sufi master who had twenty disciples. Each of his disciples wanted to succeed him as leader of their lineage. So one day he gave them each a live bird in a small cage. He told them to go someplace where no one could see them, and there to kill their bird, and then to return to him when their work was complete.
Some time later, nineteen of them came back with dead birds. The twentieth came back with a live bird still in its cage.
"Why didn't you kill your bird?" asked the Sufi master.
"I tried to do as you asked," said the student. "But no matter where I went, I couldn't find a place where no One could see me."
Of course, that was the student who deserved to lead the community: the one who knew that God is always present, and always sees us.
That, said Reb Zalman, is the meaning of יראה/ Yirah, "awe" or "fear of God." Yirah means knowing that God is our רואה / roeh, the One Who sees us. It means knowing that we are always seen.
Questions for thought/discussion:
- How do you understand the connection between awe and sight?
- How do you understand the connection between seeing and being seen?
- Read the biblical story of the midwives in Exodus 1:15-22. Note verse 21: “the midwives had yirah of God” and presumably that is why they wouldn’t kill the baby boys. Awe gave them courage to defy the powerful Pharaoh. How does yirah help guide us to behave in moral ways?
Some Additional Thoughts on Awe:
First, the great Lily Tomlin understood that awe leads to understanding, a topic covered earlier in this guide. Lily Tomlin is not Jewish, but we bring this quote to show one example of the universal human experience of awe.
“Suddenly I burst into song: ‘Awe, sweet mystery of life, at last, I found thee…’ And I felt so good inside and my heart felt so full, I decided I would set time aside each day to do awe-robics. Because at the moment you are most in awe of all there is about life that you don’t understand, you are closer to understanding it all than at any other time.” – Lily Tomlin
Questions for thought/discussion:
- More than once, Daddy told Hanan that not understanding is a good start if he wants to experience awe. Lily Tomlin agrees. How do you understand the paradox she describes that “at the moment you are most in awe of all there is about life that you don’t understand, you are closer to understanding it all than at any other time.”
- Why is it important to acknowledge awe as a universal human experience?
- How might you set aside time each day to do “awe-robics?”
Second, it is important to acknowledge that people experience and respond to awe in vastly different ways. The uniqueness of human experience is itself awesome and to be embraced. The famous Israeli poet, Zelda, (1914-1984), who in the poem below is represented by the cypress, responds in her heart to the accusation of the flame. The cypress recognizes that though the cypress and flame respond in different ways, “this awesome life” can be a shared experience. Sadly it is impossible to articulate this to one who thinks there is only one way to respond to the wonders of the world.
TWO ELEMENTS
By Zelda
The flame says to the cypress:
“When I see how calm,
how full of pride you are,
something inside me goes wild –
How can one live this awesome life
without a touch of madness,
of spirit,
of imagination,
of freedom,
with only a grim, ancient pride?
If I could, I would burn down
the establishment
that we call the seasons,
along with your cursed dependence
on earth and air and sun,
on rain and dew.”
The cypress does not answer.
He knows there is madness in him,
and freedom,
and imagination,
and spirit.
But the flame will not understand,
the flame will not believe.
© Translation: 2004, Marcia Lee Falk
From: The Spectacular Difference
Publisher: Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 2004
שני יסודות
מילים: זלדה מישקובסקי
הלהבה אומרת לברוש
כאשר אני רואה
כמה אתה שאנן
כמה עוטה גאון
משהו בתוכי משתולל
איך אפשר לעבור את החיים
הנוראים האלה
בלי שמץ של טירוף
בלי שמץ של רוחניות
בלי שמץ של דמיון
בלי שמץ של חירות
בגאווה עתיקה וקודרת
לו יכולתי הייתי שורפת
את הממסד
ששמו תקופות השנה
ואת התלות הארורה שלך
באדמה, באוויר, בשמש, במטר ובטל
הברוש שותק,
הוא יודע שיש בו טירוף
שיש בו חירות
שיש בו דימיון
שיש בו רוחניות,
אך השלהבת לא תבין
השלהבת לא תאמין
Questions for thought/discussion:
- Who do you relate to in this poem? The flame? The cypress? Something else?
- Why is it often hard for us to accept the vastness of human differences? How might embracing awe help?
Third, the ten days starting with Rosh HaShanah and ending with Yom Kippur are known as The Days of Awe – Yomim Nora’im/ימים נוראים
Questions for thought/discussion:
- Why do you think Rosh HaShanah through Yom Kippur are known as “The Days of Awe?”
- Do the discussions you’ve had as a result of this study-guide and animation change how you think about “The Days of Awe?”
Finally, A personal reflection on an experiment of changing my perspective. The change resulted in awe-inspiring experiences of joy, love, wisdom, and a connection both to people and to the Mystery that is bigger than all of us, from Beth, the author of this study guide.
During the academic year 2011-2012, my husband and I were on a Sabbatical. For the entire year, away from home, I committed to changing my perspective to that of tables. Why tables? I was trying to understand a Jewish text that describes a tradition for some people to be buried in a coffin made from their tables.
קיצור ש"ע קצט
טובי לבב שהאכילו עניים על שלחנם יש לעשות להם ארון מן השלחן כמו שנאמר: והלך לפניך צדקך (ישעיה נח:ח(
Good-hearted people who fed poor people at their tables should have a coffin made from that table, as it is written: “And your righteousness will go before you.” (Isaiah 58:8)
...טוֹבֵי לֵבָב שֶׁהֶאֱכִילוּ עֲנִיִים עַל שֻׁלְחָנָם, יֵש לַעֲשוֹת לָהֶם אָרוֹן מִן הַשֻׁלְחָן, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב, וְהָלַךְ לְפָנֶיךָ צִדְקֶךָ.
Good-hearted people who fed poor people at their tables should have a coffin made from that table, as it is written: “And your righteousness will go before you.” (Isaiah 58:8)
This tradition is based on the idea that our tables are silent witnesses to our lives. From their perspective, tables “see” everything and, according to this tradition, our tables go before us into the next world to “report” on our behavior.
I wondered: What might I learn if I saw people from the perspective of their tables? That change of perspective generated awe-inspiring experiences, resulting in joy, love, wisdom, and a connection both to people and to the Mystery that is bigger than all of us.
Here is a short ELI talk (ELI talks are Jewish TED talks), about that experience. Eternal Tables: The World to Come | My Jewish Learning
Questions for thought/discussion:
- What is your table witnessing right now?
- What table stories do you have about awe, love, joy, wisdom, or connection?
For more reading on awe, see Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, chapter 7, entitled “Awe”. Note: Almost all Heschel’s writings, in some way, connect to the idea of wonder and awe, so read Heschel if you want more on this topic.
Note on sources:
There are many links embedded in this study guide.
Links to traditional sources are from Sefaria, an amazing on-line source for Jewish texts. Some translations have been slightly altered, often to show the existence of the word yirah/awe in cases when it was translated in other ways.
In some cases, a source context provides more material on the topic of awe that we were not able to cover in this brief study guide. Clicking the link provides that context.
Short quotes from longer sermons or articles on awe are included in this guide. The full pieces are worth reading for more insights on awe and can be accessed through the links.