Fear that guards, love that draws near

בפסוק אל תיראו כו' נסות אתכם כו' תהי' יראתו על פניכם כו'.

On the pasuk: "Do not fear… in order to test you… so that His fear shall be upon your faces…"

At Har Sinai, Moshe tells the people both not to fear and that Hashem's fear should be upon them — an apparent contradiction the Sefas Emes will resolve.

לאו רישא סיפא.

The beginning and the end [of the verse seem to] contradict one another.

"Do not fear" at the start clashes with "His fear upon your faces" at the end; how can both be commanded at once?

וי"ל כי היראה נצרך להיות ע"פ האדם כדי שלא יבוא לידי חטא.

And it may be explained that the yirah (fear) needs to be "upon a person's face" so that he not come to sin.

Yiras Shomayim must rest visibly upon a person, as a constant guard, so that it holds him back from aveirah.

אבל מ"מ צריך האדם להתחזק לעבוד להשי"ת באהבה.

But nevertheless a person must strengthen himself to serve Hashem with love.

Fear restrains, yet the inner avodah must still be driven by ahavah, love of Hashem.

אף שמכיר את מקומו כי נתרחק ע"י חטאים.

Even though he recognizes his place — that he has become distant through sins.

A person may honestly feel how far his aveiros have pushed him from Hashem.

מ"מ ע"ז נאמר ודגלו עלי אהבה.

Nevertheless, about this it is said: "And His banner over me is love."

Despite his distance, the pasuk in Shir HaShirim assures him that Hashem's love still rests over him like a banner.

ובמד' דילוגו עלי כו' אף שלא בהדרגה.

And in the Midrash: "His leaping over me…" — even not in gradual order.

The Midrash reads "diglo" as "dilugo," His leaping: Hashem's love can skip over the usual gradual steps and reach a person at once.

שבאמת השי"ת אמר הטיבו כו' אשר דברו כי היו רחוקים ממדריגת מרע"ה אעפ"כ אם היו חפצים בכל לב להתקרב הי' מתקבל כנ"ל:

For in truth Hashem said, "They have done well… in all that they have spoken," for they were far from the madreigah (level) of Moshe Rabbeinu; yet even so, if they desired with all their heart to draw near, it would be accepted, as above.

Although Bnei Yisrael at Sinai stood far below Moshe Rabbeinu's level, Hashem praised their words — because a wholehearted desire to come close is accepted, no matter how great the distance, His love "leaping" across the gap.

Summary: The verse's two commands are not a contradiction: yiras Shomayim must rest "upon one's face" as a guard against sin, yet a person must still serve Hashem with love. Even one who feels distant through his aveiros is reassured that "His banner over me is love" — Hashem's love can leap across every gap, and a wholehearted desire to draw near is always accepted.