Nearness and distance are one in Hashem

במדרש ה' עוזי כו' כשנתת לנו את התורה שנק' עוז לא בא יתרו כו' אליך גוים יבאו.

In the Midrash: "Hashem is my strength" — when You gave us the Torah, which is called "strength," did not Yisro come... "to You the nations shall come."

The Midrash links the giving of the Torah (called "oz," strength) to Yisro's coming to join Bnei Yisrael, hinting that the Torah's revelation draws even nations toward Hashem.

פי' אע"פ שהבדילנו הקב"ה ובחר בנו מכל האומות אין זה גרעון וריחוק לאומות.

The explanation: even though Hashem set us apart and chose us from all the nations, this is not a diminishment or distancing of the nations.

Hashem's choosing of Bnei Yisrael does not push the other nations away; it is not a loss for them.

רק אדרבא ע"י בחירת בנ"י נפתח פתח שיתקרבו מן האומות הראוי להתקרב כי איך יוכל ב"ו להתדבק באלקים חיים.

On the contrary, through the choosing of Bnei Yisrael a doorway is opened so that those among the nations who are fit to draw close may do so — for how could a flesh-and-blood person cleave to the living Hashem?

Bnei Yisrael become the channel through which any worthy person can attain closeness to Hashem; without such a channel a mere mortal could never connect to the Divine.

ובנ"י שנתבררו במצרים ועשה לנו הקב"ה נסים ונפלאים והרים אותנו מן הטבע עד שבאנו אל הר סיני לקבל התורה.

And Bnei Yisrael, who were refined in Mitzrayim — and Hashem performed for us miracles and wonders and lifted us above nature until we came to Har Sinai to receive the Torah.

Through the suffering of Mitzrayim and the miracles of the redemption, Bnei Yisrael were purified and raised above the natural order, preparing them to receive the Torah.

וממילא נפתח פתח לקרב התחתונים.

And thereby a doorway was opened to bring the lower ones close.

Once Bnei Yisrael were elevated, an opening was created for the lower worlds — and worthy outsiders — to be drawn near as well.

וע"ז כ' שלום כו' לרחוק ולקרוב.

And about this it is written: "Peace... to the far and to the near" (Yeshayah 57:19).

The pasuk speaks of shalom extended both to the one who is near (Bnei Yisrael) and to the one who is far (the worthy outsider).

ובמד' האלקי מקרוב אני ולא מרחוק אני הוא שאני מקרב ואני מרחק.

And in the Midrash: "Am I a God from near and not a God from afar?" (Yirmiyah 23:23) — it is I who brings near and I who keeps far.

The same Hashem who draws some close is the One who keeps others at a distance; both nearness and farness flow from the single source.

ע"ש במכילתא ובמד'.

See there in the Mechilta and in the Midrash.

The Sefas Emes points the reader to the original sources for this teaching.

והגירסאות מתחלפים.

And the textual versions differ.

He notes that the wording of these Midrashim varies between sources.

ובס' יפ"ת נדחק ליישב.

And in the sefer Yefei To'ar the author labors to reconcile them.

The commentary Yefei To'ar struggles to settle the differing versions.

אבל הענין א' הוא כי אין מדותיו של הקב"ה כמדת ב"ו.

But the underlying idea is one: that the attributes of Hashem are not like the attributes of flesh and blood.

Whatever the textual variations, the principle is single — Hashem's "measures" do not work like a human being's, where near and far are opposites.

והריחוק עצמו יש בו קרבות.

And the very distancing itself contains closeness.

With Hashem, even being kept at a distance carries within it a hidden nearness.

והקרבות יש בו ריחוק.

And the closeness contains distance.

And conversely, the experience of nearness also holds an element of distance.

הרי הוא אומר שמש ומגן ה' אלקים.

For it says: "A sun and a shield is Hashem Elokim" (Tehillim 84:12).

The pasuk pairs two opposite images — sun and shield — to describe how Hashem relates to the world.

שמש הוא להאיר ומגן הוא לשמור שלא יתקרב אל האור מי שאינו ראוי.

The sun is to give light, and the shield is to guard, so that one who is unfit should not draw near to the light.

The sun represents revelation and closeness; the shield represents the protective concealment that keeps the unworthy from being harmed by an exposure they cannot bear.

וה' מדה"ר.

And the Name "Hashem" denotes the attribute of mercy (midas harachamim).

The four-letter Name signifies Hashem's quality of compassion.

אלקים מדה"ד.

"Elokim" denotes the attribute of judgment (midas hadin).

The Name Elokim signifies Hashem's quality of strict justice.

ושניהם יש בהם שמש ומגן.

And both of them contain sun and shield.

Both mercy and judgment each include the dimensions of revelation (sun) and protective concealment (shield).

ויש מי שזוכה לקבל בבחי' קירוב וע"ז נא' בנ"י עם קרובו.

And there is one who merits to receive by way of nearness, and about this it is said: "Bnei Yisrael, the people close to Him" (Tehillim 148:14).

Some souls receive Hashem's light through the mode of closeness — and of these Bnei Yisrael are described as "the nation close to Him."

ויש שמקבל ע"י בחי' ריחוק.

And there is one who receives by way of distance.

Others receive the very same Divine light, but through the mode of distance and concealment.

ושניהם אלו הם בחי' זכור ושמור.

And these two are the aspects of "Remember" and "Guard."

Nearness corresponds to "Zachor" (Remember the Shabbos) and distance to "Shamor" (Guard the Shabbos), the two ways the Torah commands the day.

מ"ע ומל"ת.

A positive commandment and a negative commandment.

"Zachor" is a mitzvas asei (a positive mitzvah) and "Shamor" is a mitzvas lo sa'aseh (a prohibition).

מ"ע הקירוב ומל"ת הריחוק.

The positive commandment is the closeness, and the negative commandment is the distance.

The positive mitzvah expresses drawing near; the prohibition expresses the holding back, the distance.

ורמזו כי בדיבור אחד נאמרו.

And they hinted that "Zachor" and "Shamor" were spoken in a single utterance.

Chazal teach that both words were said by Hashem simultaneously, showing that nearness and distance are really one.

שכל אחד כלול בחבירו והתורה כולל שניהם.

For each one is included within the other, and the Torah encompasses both.

Closeness and distance interpenetrate, and the Torah contains and unifies the two together.

כמ"ש או יחזיק במעוזי יעשה שלום שלום יעשה.

As it is written: "Or let him take hold of My strength, let him make peace with Me; peace shall he make with Me" (Yeshayah 27:5).

Grasping the "strength" — the Torah — is what produces shalom between the seemingly opposite forces.

דרשו חז"ל העוסק בתורה לשמה עושה שלום בפמליא של מעלה ופמליא של מטה.

Chazal expounded: one who engages in Torah for its own sake makes peace in the heavenly retinue (pamalya shel maalah) and the earthly retinue (pamalya shel matah).

Torah learned lishmah reconciles the upper and lower realms, harmonizing the opposing forces above and below.

פמליא של מעלה בחי' זכור.

The heavenly retinue is the aspect of "Remember."

The upper realm corresponds to "Zachor," the dimension of closeness and active revelation.

ושל מטה בחי' שמור.

And the earthly one is the aspect of "Guard."

The lower realm corresponds to "Shamor," the dimension of guarding and restraint.

ושבת ג"כ שנק' שלום.

And Shabbos too is called "Shalom."

Shabbos itself bears the name "peace," for it unites the opposites.

לפי שכלול מזכור ושמור.

Because it is composed of both "Remember" and "Guard."

Shabbos is called shalom precisely because it joins Zachor and Shamor — nearness and distance — into one.

וז"ש האלקי מקרוב אני ולא מרחוק בתמי' שאלקותו ית' יש מקבלים ע"י קירבות ויש ע"י רחקות.

And this is the meaning of "Am I a God from near and not from afar?" — said as a question: that of His Divinity, may He be blessed, some receive through nearness and some through distance.

The verse is rhetorical: Hashem is not "only" near, for His presence is received in both modes — closeness and distance alike.

ומ"ש במד' אני שהוא מרחק פי' הרחקות בא ג"כ ממני.

And what the Midrash says, "It is I who keeps far" — the meaning is that the distancing too comes from Me.

Even the experience of distance originates in Hashem Himself, not in some separate force.

וא"כ יש בו ג"כ קירבות כי במדותיו ית"ש אין בהם פירוד כמ"ש:

And therefore it too contains closeness, for in His attributes, may His Name be blessed, there is no division, as has been said.

Since distance also flows from Hashem, it is never truly separate from Him — for in Hashem's attributes there is no real disunity between near and far.

Summary: Hashem's choosing of Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai does not exclude the nations but opens the very channel through which worthy outsiders can draw near. With Hashem, nearness and distance are not opposites but two faces of one reality — "sun and shield," Zachor and Shamor, mercy and judgment — all flowing from a single, undivided source. The Torah, and Shabbos which is called "peace," unite these opposing modes into one.