Ibn Ezra explains that those who genuinely fear Hashem do not fear people. A judge who is subject to Divine authority is swayed by neither bribery nor threats. He responds to a Higher Authority. This implies that a person’s fear of man diminishes commensurate with his increasing fear of Hashem. With this in mind, Horav Sholom Schwadron, z.l., notes that one who feels that he has achieved yiraas Shomayim, fear of Heaven, should ask himself how much of earthly/human concerns he fears. Rav Schwadron substantiates Ibn Ezra’s thesis with a famous incident from Navi. Yonah Ha’Navi was fleeing Tarshish. While he…
