MIshpatim - Far and Near

There is a line in last week's Torah’s portion that discusses events surrounding the Sinaic experience. It reads: "Then He said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord...[All of] you must worship at a distance." (Exodus 24:1) The Kedushas Levi, R' Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, uses this phrase as a jumping off point to explain the two aspects of how we conceive the Infinite G-d. He terms these two aspects, ‘distant' and 'close'. The 'distant' aspect of G-d is the awareness that G-d is completely beyond any human, or even angelic, cognitive grasp. Any appellation with which we would refer to G-d would be completely inaccurate. For example, to refer to G-d using the term 'kind' is not accurate since G-d was the One to create the concept of 'kind'. We can't call Him 'compassionate', since He created the cognitive faculties to even dream up these what ‘compassionate’ looks like. It would be silly to think that a potter can be fully grasped by one of his ceramic bowls. The realization of the impossibility of grasping the boundless limits of time and space gives us a glimpse of this 'distant' aspect. HOWEVER, even the concept of "infinity" had to be created by G-d. He adds that this aspect of 'distant' is the source of awe (often translated as 'fear') of G-d that we are enjoined to have. Since, as the Kedushas Levi explains, you can only be in awe of things that are larger than yourself. This awe leaves us 'speechless' at G-d's vastness. It was this aspect which was epitomized and implanted into the recesses of our Jewish collective consciousness at 'the Giving of the Torah' by Mount Sinai. The midrashic description of that scene dramatizes this point. The mountain was on fire, the shofar sound grew increasingly louder, we saw the thunder and heard the lightning....And finally we are told that Mount Sinai was suspended over our heads, until we 'accepted' the Torah; certainly an allusion to that aspect of the Torah, G-d's wisdom, that is beyond our grasp. The other type of awareness of G-d, he terms, 'closeness'. This opposing aspect is described as the awareness of G-d being infinitely close to us. He is closer than our very own nose. He IS the Here and Now. This aspect was epitomized for the Jewish people in the days of Purim, when Hashem's presence was completely hidden within our natural world. Only at the end of the story, when the "curtains were drawn”, did G-d’s conspicuous control become so apparent; the biggest punch line in history. How can it be that G-d’s name never appears even once in the entire Book of Ester, yet it is considered to be one of the deepest and mystical of all books of TANACH? The reason is that the concept of 'closeness' can be so intense that it is often missed. Witness the case of the lost mayonnaise in the fridge that all the while was right in front of your eyes. Meditating on this aspect of 'closeness' develops love of G-d that we are obligated to cultivate. When the Tzaddik in his youth was asked, "I will give you a ruble if you tell me where Hashem is." He quickly responded, "I will give you TWO rubles if you tell me where Hashem ISN'T." In addition, to G-d being often referred to as HaShem (lit. the name), He is also called HaMakom (lit. the place). This term is most famously found in the Haggadah, right before the discussion of the four sons and in the verse recited to mourners, "May G-d (HaMakom) comfort you amongst the mourners of Zion." The Gemara explains that the reason that G-d is called The Place is because "G-d is the PLACE of the world, but the world is not His PLACE". This phrase captures these two aspects of our awareness of G-d. He is the place of the world. He is present right here, now. On the other hand, he is not contained by the world, but 'distant' from any conception.Now it becomes understood, says the Kedushas Levi in his Kedushah regarding Purim, why we are told that the Jews re-accepted the Torah in the days of Purim. The genetic engineering wasn't complete with only the 'distant' aspect of the Sinaic experience. But, we as a nation had to taste the intense closeness of Hashem as well.