Drawing Divinity through doing and refraining

כ' ב' פעמים אני ה' אלקיכם.

It is written twice: "I am Hashem your God" (Vayikra 18:2,4).

The Torah repeats "Ani Hashem Elokeichem" at the opening of the parsha of arayos, and the Sefas Emes asks what the two statements add.

שממשיכין כח אלקות ע"י שמירת ל"ת כמעשה כו' לא תעשו.

That one draws down the power of Elokus (Divinity) through the keeping of the negative commandments (lo sa'aseh) — "like the deeds of [Egypt and Canaan] … you shall not do" (Vayikra 18:3).

Restraining oneself from the forbidden, the prohibitions, itself draws Divine presence into the world.

וע"י מ"ע משפטי כו' חקותי תשמרו כו' אני ה"א.

And through the positive commandments (mitzvos asei) — "My ordinances [you shall do] … My statutes you shall keep … I am Hashem your God" (Vayikra 18:4–5).

The second "Ani Hashem Elokeichem" attaches to the positive mitzvos, teaching that fulfilling them also draws down Divinity.

כדאיתא בגמ' הבא עבירה לידו ולא עשאה נותנין לו שכר כעושה מצוה שכמו שע"י המצות ממשיכין קדושה.

As is found in the Gemara: one who had an opportunity for an aveirah come to his hand and did not commit it is given reward as one who performed a mitzvah — for just as one draws down kedushah through the mitzvos.

Chazal teach that refraining from sin earns the reward of doing a mitzvah, because both the positive act and the restraint accomplish the same thing.

כמו כן ע"י סור מרע.

So too through "turning away from evil" (sur mei-ra).

Avoiding the forbidden is not merely passive; it actively draws holiness, just as performing a mitzvah does.

והקדימו הפסוק קודם עריות שע"י העריות דכתי' ונכרתה שמפסיק הקשר ודבקות הנפש באלקות.

And the pasuk placed it before the [section of] arayos, because through arayos — concerning which it is written "and that soul shall be cut off" (v'nichresah) — the bond and the deveikus of the soul to Elokus is severed.

The warnings of "Ani Hashem" come before the forbidden relationships because such sins specifically cut off the soul's clinging attachment to Hashem — the punishment of kareis being the severing of that very bond.

והנשמר מעריות זוכה לדבקות הקדושה.

And one who guards himself from arayos merits the deveikus (clinging) of kedushah.

By refraining from these sins a person preserves and earns the holy bond of attachment to Hashem.

וב"פ אני ה' אלקיכם כמ"ש במ"א האלקי מקרוב אני ולא מרחוק שאלקותו ית"ש בא ע"י קירוב מדרגות הקדושה זהו בחי' מ"ע זכור.

And the two times "I am Hashem your God" — as explained elsewhere on "Am I a God from near and not a God from afar?" (Yirmiyahu 23:23) — that His Divinity, may He be blessed, comes through drawing near the levels of kedushah; this is the aspect of the positive command "Remember" (zachor).

One revelation of "Ani Hashem" is the drawing-near of holiness through positive mitzvos — the aspect of zachor, actively remembering and approaching Hashem.

וע"י ריחוק הסט"א ועולמות הנפרדים זה בחי' מל"ת שמור וזהו שלום לרחוק ולקרוב:

And through distancing the sitra achra (the other side) and the separated worlds — this is the aspect of the negative command "Guard" (shamor); and this is "Peace, peace, to the far and to the near" (Yeshayahu 57:19).

The second revelation of "Ani Hashem" is the pushing-away of evil through negative mitzvos — the aspect of shamor. Together, near and far, positive and negative, drawing-close and distancing, complete the wholeness of shalom with Hashem.

Summary: The Torah says "Ani Hashem Elokeichem" twice because Divinity is drawn down in two complementary ways: through positive mitzvos (zachor) one draws near the levels of kedushah, and through negative mitzvos (shamor), refraining from the forbidden, one pushes away the sitra achra — for which one is rewarded as though performing a mitzvah. Guarding against arayos in particular preserves the soul's deveikus, which those sins would sever. Far and near, drawing-close and distancing, together form the complete shalom of attachment to Hashem.