QUESTION: I’ve seen or heard quite a few times that there is a conceptual connection between the words “yirah” (fear) and “roeh” (seeing)/”yireh” (he will see), but Marc and I were wondering what the source is for that idea. Would you be able to point us to a source that speaks about it?
J. Erlbaum
ANSWER: I don’t have time to flesh this out in more detail right now, but Rav Shlomo Pappenheim in both Yerios Shlomo and Cheshek Shlomo (attached) writes that ירא and ראה are derived from the two letter string REISH-ALEPH which primarily means “seeing”. He explains that “fear” is derived from this because when one is scared, he takes extra care to “watch” over himself and make sure he doesn’t stumble or get injured. You also might want to look at Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Meklenburg’s HaKsav VeHaKabbalah (to Deut. 34:12) who writes:
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, I’m kind of busy right now. But thanks for turning to me, I really appreciate it. Kol Tuv, Reuven Chaim Klein Beitar Illit, Israel