Jacob Joseph of Polonne, (1710–1784) (Hebrew: יעקב יוסף הכהן) or Yaakov Yosef of Pollonye, was a rabbi who was one of the first disciples of the founder of Hasidic Judaism, the Baal Shem Tov.
Yaakov Yosef had been an adherent of the school of Lurianic Kabbalah.
[1] Before becoming chassidic he was the rabbi of the city of Sharhorod for several years, where his pietistic asceticism and self-isolation alienated his community and led to his being fired from his position on a Friday afternoon (just before Shabbat) in 1748.
He is a major source for the Baal Shem Tov's sayings, and quotes those he himself heard firsthand in a section called "Words I Heard from My Master.
"[2] He says of the dual requirement in Judaism to both love and fear God that when one reaches a high level of inwardness of the soul, fear and love of God coalesce into one, becoming indistinguishable from one another, eliminating the need to give priority to one over the other.