In the Musar movement of Rav Israel Salanter, Fear of God was a major goal. I noticed today in the local Breslov shul a Torah lesson of Rav Nahman that echoes that point. He say that by bringing up Fear of God to its roots one merits to the secrets of Torah.  And he explains to bring "fear of God up" to mean not to be afraid of lower things but of God alone. In fact when I was in Uman I noticed a lot of Torah lessons of Rav Nahman revolved on the theme of fear of God  and from that I decided to dig more deeply into Musar. 

I have in my own life seen that fear of God is can be gained and lost and once lost does not come back easily. Even learning Musar does not seems to help a lot. It is as if the hand of the  fates is over one in such a way that regaining lost levels is against the grain.

On one hand learning Musar seems to be the only way to gain any idea of authentic Torah and to gain at first fear of God. But there is a sort of way of falling from that that does not return.

Some Rishonim [medieval authorities] like the Ramban [Nahmanides] would hold that to learn practical professions for the sake of making a living is OK.

Some Rishonim [medieval authorities] like the Ramban [Nahmanides] would hold that to learn practical professions for the sake of making a living is OK.  He himself was a doctor. It was just that this group of rishonim would not hold that learning Physics and Metaphysics are a part of learning Torah.

You only see the opinion that Physics and Metaphysics are are part of Torah in Saadia Gaon, Ibn Pakuda [author of the Hovot Levavot], Binyamin the Doctor, the Rambam.

Words of the Rishonim are thought to be valid even when they argue.אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים. But I tend to go with the opinions based on Saadia Gaon. 

But even if you go with Saadia Gaon, still how can one do physics which is hard? My suggestion is the idea of the Gemara לעלם לגרס איניש ואחר כך ליסבר אף על גב דמשכח ואף על גב דלא ידע מאי קאמר

Always one should just say the words in order and go on ["girsa"] and after that to go back and explain, even though he forgets and even though he does not know what he is saying.

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לרב שך על הרמב''ם הלכות עבודה זרה פרק ח' הלכה ג'

 ראש השנה דף י''ג ע''א ועבודה זרה דף כ''ג ע''ב. הגמרא בעבודה זרה שואלת מדוע נאסרו אשירות [העצים הנסגדים]? אחרי הכל איש אינו יכול לאסור את השייך למישהו אחר, והארץ הייתה בבעלות ישראל מימי אברהם. תשובה: מכיוון שישראל שימשה את עגל הזהב, זה נחשב כאילו הכנענים היו כאילו שליחיהם. הגמרא בראש השנה שואלת, "איך ישראל יכולה הייתה להביא את העומר כשנכנסו לארץ כנען? התבואה הייתה בבעלות גויים והפסוק אומר קצירכם ולא קציר עכו'’ם. לפי תוספות בראש השנה שלמרות שהאדמה שייכת לישראל, עדיין גויים שקונים אדמות בישראל הם הבעלים של תבואת אדמתם. אבל עדיין הגמרא בעבודה זרה היא בסדר לשאול איך גויים יכולים לאסור את מה שלא שייך להם? תירוץ: בגלל העצים שהיו שם מלפני תקופת אברהם. אני חושב שהדרך שבה תוספות מבינה את הסוגיא הזו קשה כי הגמרא בעבודה זרה אומרת שהסיבה שהאשירות אסורות בגלל שהכנענים כאילו הם פועלים על דעת ישראל לעשות עבודת אלילים לאחר שישראל שימשה את עגל הזהב. הגמרא אינה חוזרת מעמדתה המקורית שלפיה הארץ שייכת לישראל, ולכן כל מה שצומח עליה שייך לישראל. לדעת  של הרמב''ם  שני הגמרות האלה לא מסכימות זו עם זו. זה נקרא שזה נושאים חלוקות בש''ס.  לרב שך (הלכות עבודה זרה פרק ח' הלכה ג'),. הגמרא בעבודה זרה היא פשוטה. העצים אסורים מכיוון שישראל הייתה בסדר עם עבודת אלילים. לא כי לכנענים היה חלק כלשהו בהם. רב שך נותן סיבה קצרה לאמירת הרמב''ם, שהוא לא מזכיר “את קצירכם ולא קציר עכו''ם". אבל אני חושב שרב שך בוודאי חשב גם בקווים האלה. אחרת למה לא לומר כמו תוספות? והגמרא בראש השנה מחזיקה כמו רב אלעזר שיש קניין לעכו''ם להפקיע מידי תרומות ומעשרות, שלמרות שהארץ ניתנה לאברהם, עדיין גוי יכול להחזיק שם אדמה וכשהוא עושה זאת, התבואה אינה חייבת בתרומה ומעשר, או העומר. והגמרא האחרת בעבודה זרה מחזיקה כמו זה שאין לעכו''ם קניין להפקיע מידי תרומות ומעשרות גם כאשר גוי מחזיק בקרקע בישראל, התבואה עדיין חייבת בתרומות ומעשרות

I wanted to mention here the point of the argument between Tosphot and the Rambam [according to the way that Rav Shach is explaining the Rambam]. There are three points on the stalk that are the issue here. Who  owns the ground. Who owns the stalk. Who finishes the work on the stalk which is smoothing the stake of what. Tosphot sees a difference between the first two. Israel can own the ground  and the gentile the wheat, [as a renter.] To the Rambam (at least in terms of truma) there is no difference. If the gentile owns the ground in terms of truma then he owns the wheat and that is the point of Rav Elazar. He  can possess land such that the wheat is not obligated in trumah. To Raba he can not own the land in such a sense. Even if he owns land in Israel, that is like renting and the wheat is still obligated in truma.  

I recall that this very issue was a point of confusion for me in Bava Metzia chapter 8 where this same argument between R. Elazar and Raba comes up.

Rosh Hashanah pg 13a and Avoda Zara 23b.

 Rosh Hashanah pg 13a and Avoda Zara 23b. 

The Gemara in Avoda Zara asks why were the worshipped trees forbidden? After all, no one can forbid that which belongs to someone else, and the land was owned by Israel from the time of Abraham. Answer: since Israel served the Golden Calf, it is considered as the Canaanites were acting on their behalf. The Gemara in Rosh Hashana asks "How could Israel bring the Omer when they entered into the Land of Canaanan? The grain was owned by gentiles and the verse says your grain, not the grain of gentiles."

Tosphot the Rosh Hashana gemara is saying that even though the land belongs to Israel still gentiles that buy land in Israel own the grain of their land. But still the gemara in Avoda Zara is Ok to ask how can gentiles forbid that which does not belong to them   because of the trees that were there from before the time of Abraham.

So to Rav Shach, the Rambam comes out this way. The gemara in Avoda Zara is straight and simple. The trees are forbidden because Israel was OK with idolatry. Not because the Canaanites had any portion in them. [There were trees the Canaanites had a portion in --that is trees that they planted. But the trees that were growing at the time the land was given to Abraham those trees belong to Israel and the gentiles could not cause them to be forbidden. So then why was Israel commanded to destroy all the Asherot  those the gentiles had no portion in. To that question the Gemara gives an answer.] Rav Shach gives a  reason for saying the Rambam disagrees with Tosphot. The Rambam does not mention קצירכם ולא קציר עכו''ם. 

And the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah holds like R, Elazar that יש קניין לעכו''ם להפקיע מידי תרומות ומעשרות that even though the land was given to Abraham, still a gentile can own land there and when he does, the produce is not obligated in Truma and Maasar --or as in our case the Omer. [And the other Gemara in Avoda Zara holds like Rabah that אין לעכו''ם קניין להפקיע מידי תרומות ומעשרות Even when a gentile owns land in Israel, the produce is still obligated in Trumah and maasar

 The Ari [Rav Isaac Luria Ashkenazi] says that Emanation is pure Godliness, Briah (Creation) is mostly good, Yezira (Formation) half and half, and the Physical universe is mostly evil.

This explains a lot to me. We find people that start out sincere seekers of God and his will but fall. The reason I think is this. That every area of value has an opposite area of value. But the opposite can be no so much damaging as areas of value with more content. What I mean is that Logic is one area of value that is pure form and no content. The sentences: "A implies B. B implies C. If A is true, then C is true" are an example of the form is true but the content of each A B and C can be anything. zero content. Math has more content and is not just formal as Kurt Godel proved. Then up the scale you get to art and music with more content and less form. And the progression continues until you get to God--all content and no form. לא ראיתם כל תמונה ביום עמדכם בהר סיני "You did not see any form on the day you stood at Mount Sinai."

See this diagram which shows this [By Kelley Ross based on Leonard Nelson]

But every area of value has an opposite area. The Sitra Achra of that area. And since this world is mostly evil is easy to fall from holiness into the opposite area of value.