בּוֹרֵ֖א נוב [נִ֣יב] שְׂפָתָ֑יִם שָׁל֨וֹם ׀ שָׁל֜וֹם לָרָח֧וֹק וְלַקָּר֛וֹב אָמַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה וּרְפָאתִֽיו׃
Lumilikha Ako ng bunga ng mga labi: “Kapayapaan, kapayapaan sa malayo at sa malapit,” sabi ng Walang-Hanggan, “at pagagalingin Ko siya.”
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 24,1. ,“you will prostrate yourselves from a distance.” When describing His creatures’ relationship to Him, or His relationship to them, the Creator may use two different terms, i.e. “distant,” רחוק, or “nearby,” קרוב. A “distant” relationship means that we believe in the Existence of the אור, original light emanating from the אין סוף, the essence of the Creator, as having preceded any other phenomenon in the universe, as a result of which no creature/phenomenon can possibly have a true understanding of His nature. Perceptions arrived at by our intelligence, by a מחשבה, “thought,” which is itself a “creature,” cannot possibly reflect a true understanding of the essence of Who has created them. This is also why no category of angel, however “close” it may be to the Creator can possibly have a true understanding of His essence. This inability to comprehend Him objectively, is also described as being רחוק, “distant” for want of a better word, i.e. this “distance” is not measured in terms of miles or kilometers, but in terms of means of perception. In other words, we must never try and measure our relationship to G’d in terms of physical distance.
On the other hand, the term קרוב, “nearby”, or “close,” when used in connection with the Creator, implies that we believe that He is omnipresent, fills the whole universe with His Presence, and that there is no place in all the universes that He has created in which His presence is not somehow felt at all times.
It is incumbent upon us true believers to firmly believe in these two concepts, i.e. G’d’s simultaneous “distance,” as well as His “nearness.” This is the meaning of Isaiah 17,19 שלום לרחוק ולקרוב אמר ה', “welcome to the distant and to the near, says the Lord.” The prophet, speaking in the name of G’d, welcomes those righteous who truly affirm both of these above--mentioned articles of our faith. Due to the belief of these צדיקים in these basic tenets, G’d in His turn supplies His universe with beneficial input to all parts of His universe.
Let us now look at the two categories of faith known as “love for G’d,” אהבה, and being in awe of Him, יראה. The virtue of being in awe (of G’d) is one that can be practiced only vis a vis; phenomena that are “above” us and which due to their superior position evoke fear in the beholder. This awe is therefore something closely related to the phenomenon we defined earlier as רחוק, “distant.” On the other hand, the phenomenon קרוב, nearness, is what inspires love. When the Torah, in the verse we quoted above wrote: והשתחוים , “you are to prostrate yourselves,” it refers to the awe which accompanies our relationship to something that is רחוק “distant.” The addition of the word מרחוק should therefore not be translated as “from a distance (measured physically),” but “due to your perceptual distance, difficulty, in comprehending the phenomenon known as ‘G’d.’” It is this which evokes the fear/awe relationship to G’d.
Alternatively, falling back on words of the Ari’zal, when interpreting the line beginning with the words: ואנחנו כורעים וגו' in the עלינו prayer: the word ומשתחוים in that sentence is understood as our drawing nearer to us all the beneficial outpourings of G’d’s largesse from the celestial regions through this form of worship. It is quite possible that in our verse above the purpose of G’d requesting this “prostration” of the elders and sages was to set in motion the outpourings of G’d’s beneficial largesse.
On the other hand, the term קרוב, “nearby”, or “close,” when used in connection with the Creator, implies that we believe that He is omnipresent, fills the whole universe with His Presence, and that there is no place in all the universes that He has created in which His presence is not somehow felt at all times.
It is incumbent upon us true believers to firmly believe in these two concepts, i.e. G’d’s simultaneous “distance,” as well as His “nearness.” This is the meaning of Isaiah 17,19 שלום לרחוק ולקרוב אמר ה', “welcome to the distant and to the near, says the Lord.” The prophet, speaking in the name of G’d, welcomes those righteous who truly affirm both of these above--mentioned articles of our faith. Due to the belief of these צדיקים in these basic tenets, G’d in His turn supplies His universe with beneficial input to all parts of His universe.
Let us now look at the two categories of faith known as “love for G’d,” אהבה, and being in awe of Him, יראה. The virtue of being in awe (of G’d) is one that can be practiced only vis a vis; phenomena that are “above” us and which due to their superior position evoke fear in the beholder. This awe is therefore something closely related to the phenomenon we defined earlier as רחוק, “distant.” On the other hand, the phenomenon קרוב, nearness, is what inspires love. When the Torah, in the verse we quoted above wrote: והשתחוים , “you are to prostrate yourselves,” it refers to the awe which accompanies our relationship to something that is רחוק “distant.” The addition of the word מרחוק should therefore not be translated as “from a distance (measured physically),” but “due to your perceptual distance, difficulty, in comprehending the phenomenon known as ‘G’d.’” It is this which evokes the fear/awe relationship to G’d.
Alternatively, falling back on words of the Ari’zal, when interpreting the line beginning with the words: ואנחנו כורעים וגו' in the עלינו prayer: the word ומשתחוים in that sentence is understood as our drawing nearer to us all the beneficial outpourings of G’d’s largesse from the celestial regions through this form of worship. It is quite possible that in our verse above the purpose of G’d requesting this “prostration” of the elders and sages was to set in motion the outpourings of G’d’s beneficial largesse.