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The Rose:
Thirteen Attributes
Thirteen measures (or attributes) of compassion -- in Hebrew,
shlosh esrei midot shel rachamim In Exodus 34:6-7, after the sin of the golden calf, Moses has
asked to know God more closely, and God responds: Vaya-avor Adonai al panav, vayikra: Adonai, Adonai, Eil rachum
v'chanun, erech apayim v'rav chesed ve-emet, notser chesed la-alafim,
nosei avon vafesha v'chata-a v'nakei... These words are therefore called "The Thirteen Attributes". "YHVH passed before him and called out". Rabbi Yochanan said,
"If this were not a verse written in the Bible, it would be impossible
to say this: This teaches that the Blessed Holiness was wrapped
in a tallit like a prayer-leader, showing Moses a prayer service,
saying to him, 'When the Jewish people sin, let them carry out
this prayer service before Me, and I will pardon them.'" {Talmud
Rosh Hashanah 17b} The Thirteen Attributes therefore became an important part of
Jewish prayers for forgiveness. In the traditional prayers of
Yom Kippur they are repeated over and over. (They are also sung
when the Torah is taken out of the Ark on festivals.) According to some Kabbalistic traditions there are also thirteen
higher, more hidden attributes of compassion. They are alluded
to in verses from the prophet Micah, which are traditionally chanted
on Yom Kippur following the reading of the book of Jonah. (These
verses are also the basis for the ritual of Tashlich, "throwing
sins into the depths of the sea" on Rosh Hashanah): {Micah 7:18-20} Mi Eil kamocha, nosei avon, v'over al pesha lish'eirit nachalato.
Lo he-chezik la-ad apo, ki chafeits chesed hu. Yashuv y'rachameinu,
yichbosh avonoteinu, v'tashlich bimtsulot yam kol chatotam. Titein
emet l'Ya-akov, chesed l'Avraham, asher nishbata la-avoteinu mimei
kedem. "[1] Who is a God like You, [2] forgiving sin [3] and passing
by the transgression [4] of the remnant of His people. [5] He
does not hold on to His anger forever, [6] because He desires
lovingkindness. [7] He will again have compassion for us, [8]
he will subdue our sins -- [9] You will throw into the depths
of the sea all their sins! [10] You give truth to Jacob, [11]
lovingkindness to Abraham, [12] as You swore to their ancestors
[13] from the the days of old." The Palm Tree of Devorah, by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, one of the
great Kabbalists of the 1500s, includes an explanation of these
higher thirteen attributes of pure forgiveness and how we can
aspire to live by them.
Attributes
"YHVH passed before him and called out: 'YHVH, YHVH, God compassionate
and gracious, patient, abounding in lovingkindness and truth,
keeping kindness for thousands [of generations], bearing with
sin and transgression and error, and forgiving...'"
The rest of the sentence is actually about punishment, but in
Jewish prayers we end the quotation here, on the note of forgiveness.
The Talmud counts thirteen names or descriptions of God in these
verses and says that they all refer to God's compassion:
The Talmud also says that God was teaching Moses how we should
pray for forgiveness:
