"You will prostrate yourselves from a distance" (Exodus 24:1). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev reads this verse not as a physical instruction about how far to stand from Mount Sinai, but as a statement about the two fundamental modes of relating to God: distance and nearness.
"Distance" (rachok, רחוק) in relation to God means acknowledging that no created intelligence can truly comprehend the Creator. Our thoughts are themselves creations. They cannot step outside their own nature to grasp what lies beyond it. Even the highest angels, however "close" they may be to God, cannot perceive His essence. This distance is not measured in miles. It is measured in the gap between finite perception and infinite reality.
"Nearness" (karov, קרוב) means believing that God is omnipresent, filling every corner of every universe, present in every moment and every place without exception.
The righteous person, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak insists, must hold both truths simultaneously. God is utterly beyond comprehension and intimately present everywhere. "Peace to the distant and to the near, says the Lord" (Isaiah 57:19). God welcomes those who affirm both articles of faith. And because of their belief, God supplies beneficial input to all parts of His universe.
These two modes correspond to the two pillars of Jewish worship. Awe (yirah, יראה) relates to distance. You stand in awe of what is above you, what you cannot fully grasp. Love (ahavah, אהבה) relates to nearness. You love what is close to you, what you can feel and embrace. When the Torah commands prostration "from a distance," it is prescribing the awe that comes from recognizing the infinite gap between creature and Creator. And when the Torah invites closeness through mitzvot (commandments), it is activating the love that arises from knowing God is right here, as near as your next breath.
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. Exodus 24,3. “Moses came and told the people all the words of Hashem, and all the “social laws.”According to the opinion of Rashi, the events recorded in this chapter occurred chronologically before the giving of the Torah on the 6th of Sivan. He adds that the משפטים, laws governing inter personal relations, must refer to the 7 Noachide laws that apply to all of mankind and to the laws governing the red heifer and part of the Sabbath legislation revealed to the people at Marah, as well as to the law to honour father and mother.Nachmanides questions at least part of Rashi’s commentary, finding it most unlikely that at this time and place Moses told the people about the 7 Noachide laws. He also argues that the expression ויספר, “he told,” used in our verse is inappropriate for use with matters that were already known.Personally, I do not see anything wrong with Rashi’s commentary. According to the understanding of the sages in the Talmud, the events described in this chapter preceded the revelation at Mount Sinai as explained in Or Hachayim, see page 751 in this editor’s translation of the Or Hachayim’s commentary, where the author quotes a Mechilta on this subject describing it as “undisputed.” As to the words in Rashi referring to what Moses told the people being the seven Noachide commandments, etc., this was not the subject he told them about, i.e. ויספר, “he told,” but refers to the altar which Moses had built on the 5th day of Sivan, the day prior to the revelation which the Torah mentions in verse 4 of our chapter. On that day Moses concluded a covenant with the people confirming as law the seven Noachide laws, etc., laws that had first been introduced during the people’s stopover at Marah, where G’d had demonstrated how “bitter” waters could be sweetened. Moses told the people that their having observed the laws given on that occasion was truly a major achievement on their part. He added that G’d had been greatly pleased by this. When the people heard about how pleased G’d had been, they were encouraged to spontaneously promise that any further laws G’d were to instruct them to observe they would honour without hesitation. In other words, they “invited” G’d to inform them of additional laws He had in mind to reveal to them for their own good. This was followed a little while later by the most famous declaration of the people when they proclaimed: נעשה ונשמע, “we will do, now let’s hear,” in that order. (verse 7) Exodus 24,10. “and beneath His feet there was something resembling a brick made from sapphire.” There is an ironclad rule that every “spark”, limb, movement, in this physical universe as well as the activity of every angel, i.e. disembodied creature of G’d, needs to be an instrument used in the service of the Lord. Seeing that He is unique and solitary and eternal, anyone serving Him will experience satisfaction and pleasure of a kind that no creature could attain by its own efforts.It is axiomatic that when speaking of the אין סוף, the essence of the Creator, concepts such as time, space and quantity, do not apply, seeing that these concepts define limitations, and the Creator, by definition, is “unlimited” i.e. does not suffer from the constraints imposed upon His creatures by time, space and quantity. These concepts become applicable only when the Creator, in order not to destroy His universe and the creatures in it, must impose restraints upon Himself, known as צמצום. These restraints that the Creator imposes upon Himself vary with the parts of the universe in which He desires to become manifest at different times. Concepts such as time, space, quantity, are useful in measuring the degree of such constraints G’d imposes upon Himself at different “times,” and in different “spaces.”All living creatures are required to “gaze upon,” i.e. to relate to the אין from within the parts of the universe that is their habitat, to their roots, the cause from which all their חיות, life-force, draws its animation or vitality. In other words, speaking allegorically, man must keep in contact with its Creator, much like an unborn baby must remain in contact through its navel with its life-giving mother. By maintaining such contact, the life force of the creature keeps being renewed. This “process,” though assuming different forms, is common to all creatures whether mobile, inert, free-willed or “programmed” by its Creator. The means by which these various creatures maintain this contact with their origins are the אותיות, “identifying letters,” for want of a better word, which represent the individuality of the various kinds of creatures. In the celestial regions there are “outlets,” marked as appropriate for each type of creature to connect to. When each one “concentrates,” i.e. sees with its mind’s eye this outlet whence they “recharge” their “batteries,” they thus ensure their continued existence and function in the parts of the universe that has been allocated to them.It is important for these creatures to establish a system whereby their contact with their origin remains unbroken, so that their continued existence is not endangered.According to the Kabbalists, this method or system is known as קמץ, like the vowel in the Hebrew alphabet. This method is discussed in the Tikkuney Hazohar. According to what is explained there, the אין סוף, infinite essence of G’d, is also known as קמץ. This אין סוף, seeing that it has no colour, is considered in the category of “white,” as “white” forms the basis of all other colours. Any other colour may be perceived as having been superimposed on the original white. “Orientation” at the source, is of course a two-way street, i.e. the creatures recharging their batteries do so in order to return “down” to “earth,” i.e. their respective habitats in the various parts of the universe, in order to put their newly charged “batteries” to good use there. When the Torah describes the elders in our verse above as “seeing” something resembling a brick made of sapphire under the feet of G’d’s throne, this is merely an illustration of the process we have just described, spiritual batteries having been recharged by these elders in preparation for the revelation to occur on the following day. [The author continues at length to explain the report of Moses’ charging the firstborn, נערי בני ישראל, with offering sacrifices, while he sprinkled the blood on the altar, etc; all these activities are explained in terms of paralleling the “charging of spiritual batteries” that we explained above. I have decided not to continue with this part of his presentation as it extends all the way to the half shekel the male Israelites in chapter 30, were to give as ransom for their souls. Ed.] Exodus 24,10. “they saw the G’d of Israel, and beneath His feet something resembling a brick made of sapphire pure as the heavens.” We are all familiar with the concept of אהבת הבורא, “love for the Creator,” after all we have been charged with loving Him in Deuteronomy 6,5 and we recite this verse three times daily. Nonetheless, any thinking person must ask himself how he could describe himself as “loving G’d,” seeing that He is so far above us human beings that a mutual love relationship as we comprehend it seems impossible, and anyone claiming to feel such feelings surely must be guilty of boasting, or something worse, blasphemy!There is a third “dogma,” that anyone claiming to be a true believer in Judaism must embrace, and that is that the Creator is our Father, we are His children, and that in spite of the fact that G’d like any father is wiser, more experienced, more knowledgeable than his children, this does not preclude Him from enjoying his children, even engaging in the equivalent of “playing games with them.” The fact that the Creator is able to do this is what enables Him to become beloved by His creatures/children.These three “dogmas,” or מידות, were prominently displayed in varying degrees by the patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov. Avraham excelled in love for his Creator, Yitzchok excelled in his awe of the Creator, and Yaakov excelled in תפארת ואמת, “harmony and truth.” Avraham’s level of faith was complemented and thus made complete by his grandson Yaakov, and this is the meaning of Isaiah 29,22 saying בית יעקב אשר פדה את אברהם, “the house of Yaakov who redeemed Avraham.” The right hand of a human being, the left hand and the torso, allude to these three virtues, religious “dogmas.”There is another virtue, faith, אמונה, i.e. actually a twofold “faith” the belief in both the authenticity of the written as well as the oral Torah. What this “faith” involves is the absolute certainty that the Creator guides the universe, according to how He sees fit. This aspect is included in the term תורה שבכתב, “the written Torah.” At the same time we must believe that G’d carries out the wishes of the collective soul of the Jewish people. The first mentioned aspect of faith is primarily the faith demonstrated by Moses, whereas the latter aspect, belief in the authenticity of the oral Torah was what Aaron the High Priest, excelled in. In other words, basically what Yaakov excelled in and what Aaron excelled in were similar, the difference being that Yaakov’s “faith” included the belief that G’d is amused and delights in the Jewish people to the point that He “boasts“ about them. However, this is not yet sufficient for Him to fulfill their wish for Him to guide the world according to the wishes of the people of Israel, seeing that even if a father in our world of mortals, just because his son pleases him on occasion or even most of the time, does not re-orient his lifestyle on account of that. It requires the additional virtue of Aaron, i.e. Yaakov, in order for Israel to persuade Him to re-orient His manner of guiding the universe so that it coincides with the wishes of the collective soul of the Jewish people.In the event, Yaakov became equivalent to his son Levi who was found worthy to also become the founder of the priesthood in Israel. It was Yaakov who fathered the children who were eventually adorned with the title “Children of Israel.” The reason why the priests wear 4 distinct garments when performing their functions in the Temple, is that they embody the four virtues we have described earlier as being essential for the truly believing Israelite. These 4 virtues, i.e. “dogmas” of Jewish belief, are also represented in the four letters of the holy name of the Lord, the tetragram. The four garments of the priest worn in our “lower” part of the universe, symbolize the letters in the tetragram, reminiscent of the “upper” world. This is one way in which G’d is represented among the Israelites in their world at all times. [At this juncture the author quotes Nachmanides (I have not been able to find this in either Nachmanides’ commentary on this verse in the Torah, nor in the many chapters of האמונה והבטחון where I had expected to find this]. To summarize very succinctly: when a person is near ecstasy in his quest to come closer to Hashem, the essence, it is incumbent upon him to condense such feelings into substance by performing a commandment. The purpose of this is to give visible expression to his feelings through a כלי, a tangible instrument, in this instance the specific commandment chosen as the expression of his quest. If he succeeds in this quest he is considered an אבר חי, a “living limb,” [a term borrowed from an erect penis], whereas failing this he is considered an אבר מת, a penis unable to sustain an erection. In this connection, our author continues that in normal life, it is only permitted to have an erection if one is about to perform the commandment of trying to plant his seed in a ritually permitted partner at the appropriate time in order to beget a child.He goes on to say that he has already explained how Moses was able to negate his physical impulses to such an extent that he could remain on Mount Sinai without food or drink for a period of 40 days and not suffer any harm from this. He credits Moses’ ability to do so to his possession of the virtue of awe of G’d. He had acquired this awe through his familiarity with the written Torah. Aaron, on the other hand, had complemented this virtue through his familiarity with the oral Torah.Awe of the Creator, according to our author, is divided into two categories. There is a category known as יראה גדולה, “awe of the first order”, and a category known as יראה קטנה, “awe of a lower order.” A person who has attained the former level of awe is no longer in need of performing the commandments of the Torah, as these were a means to elevate him to this status, [even temporarily, my words. Ed.] People who have attained the lower level of awe, such as the nobles, elders and Nadav and Avihu in our chapter, are still described as eating and drinking, as if “business was as usual.” (verse 11).[Since no mention is made of Aaron eating or drinking at this stage, and G’d does not mention “overlooking” Aaron’s behaviour at this time, I assume he is not included in the description of the אצילי בני ישראל, but was on a level higher than the nobles, but slightly below that of Moses. Ed.] Nonetheless the elders and nobles, etc., had experienced visions, which according to our sages equaled those of Ezekiel and Amos (compare Nachmanides’ commentary on the spot). Our verses try to give us an inkling of the above, the word לבנת “whiteness of,” being an allusion to the closeness to the essence of the Creator in a state when colour had not yet been part of the emanations which commenced at the beginning of the creative process in Genesis. In other words, and in consonance with what the author had described when describing the creation of light, they were close to the essence of G’d, the אין סוף.According to our author, the word ידו in verse 11 where G’d’s reaction to the conduct of the elders, etc., as a result of their being granted such lofty visions, is described by the words: ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו ויחזו את האלוקים ויאבלו וישתו, “but G’d did not stretch out a punitive hand against the nobles of the Children of Israel who had eaten and drunk while experiencing a vision of G’d,” as G’d did not consider their action as lack of respect for the visions they had been granted, but realized that it was due to their not having attained the necessary level of יראה גדולה, “awe of the first order,” as we described earlier. According to our author, at this juncture the qualitative superiority of the tribe of Levi and the priests that emerged from it began. This paralleled a development that had commenced when Yaakov acquired the additional name of Yisrael, when he surpassed certain spiritual boundaries that both his father and grandfather had not surpassed. Our author quotes Deuteronomy 33,9 where Levi is reported as not having seen his father, as an allusion to the tribe of Levi having attained a superior spiritual status not attained by his forbears or his siblings. The Levites, or some of them at certain times, were able to completely negate the limitations imposed upon mortal man who inhabits this physical part of the universe. As a result of this achievement, an entirely new Jewish nation came into existence, i.e. the 12 tribes that comprise this nation. [The author continues with interesting speculations, which in my opinion, do not belong to an exegesis of this verse or portion. I have decided to omit them. Ed.] Exodus 24,17. “and the appearance of G’d’s glory was like a consuming fire on the top of the Mountain.” When man serves the Lord through observing the commandments and studying His Torah, he provides the Lord with a great deal of satisfaction. If he wishes to know if his service was really pleasing to the Lord, the test is to look into his own heart. If he notices that his own heart is as if burning with fire in his enthusiasm and that whenever he performs acts of service to the Lord it thoroughly warms his heart and he himself experiences a profound satisfaction and joy at serving his Creator, this is proof that he receives a heavenly assist to continue on the path he has chosen. The meaning of the words ומראה כבד ה' therefore is not a description of what was visible on the mountain but rather that G’d’s sign of showing His servants that their service to Him was appreciated was that the person concerned experienced within himself a reflection of what the Jewish people experienced on the day prior to the revelation when they looked at the top of the mountain. When his own heart seems to him to be on “fire,” and he is close to ecstasy, this is proof that G’d takes pleasure in his efforts.
