From the Ramchal’s introduction to Mesilas Yesharim (tr. R’ Aryeh Kaplan):
This is what Moses our Teacher, may Peace be upon him, teaches us in saying:
יב וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה יְ-הוָ֣ה אֱ-לֹהֶ֔יךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵֽעִמָּ֑ךְ כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָה אֶת־יְ-הוָ֨ה אֱ-לֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו֙ וּלְאַֽהֲבָ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ וְלַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־יְ-הוָ֣ה אֱ-לֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָֽבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ יג לִשְׁמֹ֞ר אֶת־מִצְו֤͏ֹת יְ-הוָה֙ וְאֶת־חֻקֹּתָ֔יו…And now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you, but that you fear / be in awe of Hashem your G-d to walk in all His ways, and to love Him and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. To observe the mitzvoth of God and His statutes…
- Devarim 10:12-13Herein have been included all of the features of perfection of Divine service that are appropriate in relation to the Holy One blessed be He. They are:
- היראה – fear/awe of G-d,
- ההליכה בדרכיו – walking in His ways,
- האהבה – love,
- שלמות הלב – wholeheartedness, and
- שמירת כל המצוות – observance of all of the mitzvoth.
“היראה – Fear/awe of G-d” denotes fear of the Majesty of the Blessed One, fearing / being in awe of Him as one would a great and mighty king, and being ashamed at one’s every movement in consequence of His greatness, especially when speaking before Him in prayer or engaging in the study of His Torah.
“ההליכה בדרכיו – Walking in His ways” embodies the whole area of cultivation and correction of character traits. As our Sages of blessed memory have explained, “אבא] שאול אומר: ‘ואנוהו’ הוי דומה לו] מה הוא [חנון] ורחום אף אתה היה [חנון ו]רחום – [Abba Shaul says: 'And I shall glorify Him - ואנוהו - be similar to Him.] Just as He is [giving and] merciful, be also [giving and] merciful…” (Shabbos 133b) The essence of all this is that a person conform all of his traits and all the varieties of his actions to what is just and ethical. Chazal have thus summarized the idea:
[רבי אומר: איזו היא דרך ישרה שיבור לו האדם?] כל שהיא תפארת לעושיה, ותפארת לו מן האדם…
[Rebbe says: What is the "straight path" that a person should traverse?] All that is praiseworthy in its doer and brings praise to him from others…
- Avos 1:2
that is, all that leads to the end of true good, namely, strengthening of Torah and furthering of brotherliness.
“האהבה – Love” – that there be implanted in a person’s heart a love for the Blessed One which will arouse his soul to do what is pleasing before Him, just as his heart is aroused to give pleasure to his father and mother. He will be grieved if he or others are lacking in this; he will be jealous for it and he will rejoice greatly in fulfilling aught of it.
“שלמות הלב – Whole-heartedness” – that service before the Blessed One be characterized by purity of motive, that its end be His service alone and nothing else. Included in this is that one’s heart be complete in Divine service, that his interests not be divided or his observance mechanical, but that his whole heart be devoted to it.
“שמירת כל המצוות – Observance of all the mitzvos,” as the words imply, is observance of the whole body of mitzvos with all of their fine points and conditions.
The Ramchal clearly denies the idea that observing halakhah is the entirety of following the Torah.
If we look at the other four elements, we see the two emotions central to our relationship with Hashem, יראה and אהבה. We also see two aspects of perfecting one’s middos: emulating Hashem, and being whole. The Ramchal lists them as two pairs: an emotional element and a behavioral one in each. A dialectic.
On the one side — יראה, the fear/awe of G-d, an awareness of His magnitude and the consequent “walking in His ways”. To know that He is Great would naturally generate a desire to follow His example and thereby also reach for greatness.
One the other side is אהבה, love of G-d and wholehearted service. Not walking the path G-d shows us by example, us walking with Him, but walking the path to Him. Such is love.
It is only through that יראה and emulation, אהבה and wholehearted dedication, that one can truly observe Hashem’s mitzvos in a manner that is “what Hashem asks of us”. Halakhah then becomes the synthesis of these goals, the means to know when to operate on the plane of awe-imitation or on the plane of love-following, to have something greater than either.
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