"After God, your Lord, you shall go" - Deuteronomy 13:5
Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen, more popularly known as the Chafetz Chaim, once asked Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter of Gur, the Imrei Emet, the following question: "Why does the verse use the word 'after' - a term that normally denotes separation and distance? Surely we should strive to be as close to God as possible, and not go 'after" Him?"
The Imrei Emet responded with a brilliant answer: "The more one recognizes God's greatness and his own worthlessness, the more he will realize how far he really is from God. Therefore, only after one recognizes the infinite distance that exists between God and himself can one start to come closer to God. This is what is meant in the verse's usage of the word 'after' God."
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