If you listen closely to the Hebrew Scriptures, if you read them not as isolated stories but as one long thread, you’ll notice something.

The single most repeated command from G-d is not “keep the Sabbath.”

It’s not “be holy.”

It’s not even “love one another.”

It’s this:

אַל־תִּירָא — Do not be afraid.

Life Is Terrifying

Why would that need to be said so often?

Because life is terrifying.

Earth is not gentle. Earth is not predictable. Earth is not for the faint of heart.

To be alive is to stand in the middle of forces larger than you can control. Hunger. Disease. Betrayal. Death. The people you trust can wound you. The body you live in can fail you. The ground itself can shake.

And it’s not just the tragedies. It’s the confusion. Life doesn’t move in straight lines. You can do everything “right” and still end up broken. You can sacrifice, work hard, pray, and still find yourself face down in the dust.

That’s why the command has to be spoken again and again. Because the natural state of human life is to be afraid.

Fear Is Natural — But Not Meant to Rule You

Now, fear itself is not a sin. Fear is honest. It’s your body telling you that something matters, that danger is near, that you might lose something you love.

But here’s the problem: fear doesn’t stay in its lane. Left unchecked, fear metastasizes.

•It becomes paralysis — you freeze, you can’t move.

•It becomes panic — you lash out, strike first, protect yourself at all costs.

•It becomes cruelty — because people who are afraid will hurt others to feel safe again.

•It becomes idolatry — because fear makes you bow to false gods of control, security, power.

That’s why the command is not “never feel fear.” The command is: don’t live from fear. Don’t let it take the driver’s seat. Don’t let it decide who you are.

When G-d Speaks “Do Not Fear”

Think about when those words show up:

•To Abraham, stepping out into a world of unknown promises.

•To Hagar, sobbing in the wilderness with her child dying in her arms.

•To Jacob, on the edge of Egypt, staring down exile.

•To Moses, with the sea in front of him and an army behind him.

•To Joshua, trembling at the task of leading a people into hostile land.

•To the prophets, burdened with words they didn’t even want to say.

•To Israel, scattered in exile, wondering if they’d ever find home again.

Every single time, the situation warranted fear. These weren’t pep talks in safe places. These were reminders in the middle of storms.

And every single time, the command was paired with a reason:

•“Do not fear, for I am your shield.”

•“Do not fear, for I am with you.”

•“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.”

It’s not comfort by erasure. It’s courage by presence.

The Mindset We Need

If this is the world we live in — unpredictable, dangerous, beautiful and broken — then what kind of mindset can we build to live without being consumed by fear?

•Acceptance of reality. Stop expecting life to be fair, neat, or safe. The Hebrew Scriptures never promise that. They promise struggle and the possibility of meaning inside it.

•Courage as practice. Courage is not an emotion you wait to feel. It’s a decision you make when fear shows up. It’s practiced, chosen, learned in small acts until it becomes a posture.

•Trust in something larger. Call it G-d, covenant, Spirit, truth — anchor yourself in what outlasts danger. Fear shrinks the horizon to only what you can see. Faith stretches it beyond.

•Orientation toward others. Fear isolates. It makes you retreat into yourself. But faith moves outward. Most of the time when G-d says “do not fear,” it’s followed by a call to act — to lead, to walk, to speak, to keep going.

This is the mindset: not denial of danger, but refusal to surrender your humanity to it.

Why G-d Keeps Saying It

And maybe this is why “do not fear” is said more than any other command. Because fear is the root of so many things that destroy us. Fear makes us cruel. Fear makes us small. Fear makes us settle for slavery when we’re called to freedom.

So G-d repeats it again and again, like a parent teaching a child how to walk:

“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. I’m here. Keep moving.”

The Image to Hold On To

Picture yourself walking a mountain trail at night. The drop-off is real. The danger is real. Your chest is tight, your pulse is fast. But beside you walks one holding a torch.

The voice is not saying, “There is no cliff.” The voice is not saying, “You won’t stumble.”

The voice is saying:

“Don’t let the cliff define you. Don’t let the dark paralyze you. Keep walking. I am here.”

Closing Word

So if you remember nothing else, remember this:

G-d’s most repeated command is not about ritual, not about purity, not about performance. It is about fear.

Because life on this earth is brutal, beautiful, terrifying.

And the only way through is to keep walking with courage, not because you’re fearless, but because you are not alone.

אַל־תִּירָא — Be not afraid.

Amen.