Fear and Faith in Religious Life

What is the relationship between fear and faith? This question is explored in Rivka Kahan’s recent essay, “Fear and Faith in Religious Life” (TRADITION, Spring 2026). In this episode Kahan discusses these topics with our podcast host, Mali Brofsky. Together, they think through their strategies to show their students that emotions such as fear are not only acceptable but are actively explored and embraced within our tradition. Kahan outlines three primary frameworks for understanding fear within Jewish thought: Malbim posits that faith acts as a source of strength that helps a person overcome fear, serving a “buoy” to faith by providing inner strength. Abravanel suggests that fear is necessary for true faith, which is understood as the commitment to follow God’s will despite experiencing fear. Finally, the Midrashic approach holds that maintaining a level of worry reflects moral humility. Brofsky notes that these models are not mutually exclusive; rather, individuals may cycle through them depending on their circumstances. The speakers discuss how extreme confidence, even when based on faith, can inadvertently lead to hubris, and argue that experiencing anxiety or unworthiness can foster moral refinement and humility. They close by discussing the difference between individual and national fear, and how to maintain a healthy faith balanced with humility in times of national challenge—something all too familiar to our readers these days. Rivka Kahan’s TRADITION essay will appear in her forthcoming book, which explores human emotions through the lens of Tanakh and its commentaries, to be published as part of Kitvuni Fellowship of Matan. She teaches post-high school students at several institutions in Israel and develops educational and scholarly resources for AlHaTorah.org. Mali Brofsky, MSW, a member of TRADITION’s editorial board, is a senior faculty member at MMY and a social worker in private practice. The post Fear and Faith in Religious Life appeared first on Tradition Online.