Know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning.

“Akabyah ben Mahalalel said: Mark these three things well and you will not come into the power of sin. Know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning. Where do you come from? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, of worms and of maggots. Before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning? Before the King of the Kings of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.”

Tractate of Avot 3:1

We must always remember our meager origins and inevitable end. Rabbi Akabyah’s message underlines the inferiority of men. Our ephemerality should lead us to focus on the world to come and dedicate our entire lives to spiritual progress. Furthermore, we should remember that our faith is not subject to entropy-it will accompany us in the afterlife.

Awe is the experience of perceiving the presence of the Creator; also known as “fear of God”, or reverence.