Thirteen Attributes Of Mercy
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (י״ג מִידּוֹת) or ''Shelosh-'Esreh Middot HaRakhamim'' (transliterated from the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: ) as enumerated in the
Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...
() in Parasha Ki Tissa are the Divine Attributes with which, according to
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
,
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
governs the world. The thirteen attributes are alluded to a number of other times in the Bible. Verses where God is described using all or some of the attributes include , , , , , , , , and .


Significance

The 13 attributes closely parallel the description of God's nature in the second of the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
, except that God is characterized as merciful rather than zealous. Thus, they represent a covenant between God and Israel, replacing the covenant of the Ten Commandments which was broken by the
golden calf According to the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran, the golden calf () was a cult image made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai (bible), Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as "the sin of the calf" (). It is first mentio ...
sin.Yoshi Fargeon
מה בין י"ג מידות לעשרת הדברות?
/ref> When Moses later mentioned the 13 attributes as an argument for sparing the Jewish people after the sin of the spies, he was referencing this covenant (in contrast to the covenant with the Biblical patriarchs, which Moses had referenced after the golden calf sin). According to
Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
the 13 attributes are not qualities inherent in God, but rather are methods of His activity, by which the divine governance appears to the human observer to be controlled. This understanding is confirmed by the Sifre, where these attributes are not called (which can mean "attribute"), but rather (ways), since they are the ways of God which Moses prayed to know and which God proclaimed to him.


Division

The number thirteen is adopted from Talmudic and rabbinic tradition. There are divergent opinions as to the correct division of the Biblical words between attributes; Shadal describes no fewer than thirteen such opinions. According to some, the Thirteen Attributes begin with the first "Adonai", in verse 6, and end with the word "ve-nakeh" in verse 7. The single attributes are contained in the verses as follows: # '' YHVH'' (compassion before a person sinsAccording t
Rosh Hashana 17b
/ref>); # ''YHVH'' (compassion after a person has sinned); # ''El'' (possessing the power to bestow kindness); # ''Raḥum'': merciful (that humankind may not be distressed); # ''VeḤanun'': and gracious (if humankind is already in distress); # ''Erekh appayim'': slow to anger; # ''VeRav ḥesed'': and plenteous in kindness; # ''VeEmet'': and truth (fulfilling His promises); # ''Notzer ḥesed la'alafim'': keeping kindness unto thousands (of generations). In the Torah scroll the is enlarged; # ''Noseh avon'': forgiving iniquity; # ''VaFeshah'': and transgression; # ''VeḤata'ah'': and sin; # ''VeNakeh'': and pardoning. According to others, the Thirteen Attributes begin only with the second "Adonai", since the first one is the subject of (and He proclaimed). In this case, to achieve the total of thirteen attributes, some count as two while others divide into two, since forbearance is shown both to the good and to the wicked, and still others end the thirteenth with (he does not pardon), this being considered a good quality, since through punishment man is moved to repentance, after which he is pardoned and pure. Others term a single , the thirteenth being, in their opinion, (visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children), "this being regarded as compassionate since the transgressor is not punished immediately".


Liturgical usage

The general usage is that the various recitations of the thirteen begin with the first "Adonai" and conclude with "ve-nakeh". They must not be recited by only one person in prayer, but by an entire congregation, which must consist of at least ten persons, a minyan.
Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...
,
Orach Chayim ''Orach Chayim'' ("manner/way of life") is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of Halakha (Jewish law), '' Arba'ah Turim''. This section addresses aspects of Jewish law pertinent to the Hebrew calendar (be it the daily, weekly, mo ...
; 565:5
* According to Lurianic Kabbalah, they are recited on holidays which do not fall on the sabbath when the
Sefer Torah file:SeferTorah.jpg, A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema file:Köln-Tora-und-Innenansicht-Synagoge-Glockengasse-040.JPG, An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Inte ...
is taken from the Ark. In some Western Ashkenazic communities, they never accepted this custom, or accepted it only on the High Holidays and not of Pilgrimage Festivals. * In Ashkenazi synagogues, it is also customary that on the fast days on which Exodus 32:11–14 and 34:1–10 are read, the reader stops at the word "Vayikra" in order that the congregation may recite the thirteen attributes, after which he continues his reading. * The Thirteen Attributes are recited many times in Selichot prayers. After every petition the thirteen middot are recited with their introductory prayer, the well-known ''El Melech yoshev'', which runs as follows: "Almighty King, sittest on the throne of mercy, showing forth Thy compassion, and forgiving the sins of Thy people by ever taking away their former guilt, ofttimes granting pardon unto sinners and forgiveness to the transgressors, making manifest Thy goodness both to body and to soul, nor punishing them according to their iniquity; Almighty One, as Thou hast taught us to recite the thirteen iddot so remember now the thirteenfold covenant, as Thou didst in former days proclaim it to the modest one oses even as it is written..." (then follow the verses Exodus 34:5–7a and 9b). In addition, two selichot: "Shelosh esreh middot" pizmon ''Ezkera Elohim'' of Amittai b. Shephatiah are about the attributes. * In some communities, particularly those influenced by Lurianic Kabbalah, they are recited before every recitation of Tachanun.


See also

* Attributes of God in Christianity * Chesed * Thirteen Principles of Faith * Thirteen Rules of Rabbi Ishmael


References

* {{JewishEncyclopedia, article=Middot, Shelosh-Esreh, author= Isidore Singer and Jacob Zallel Lauterbach, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=583&letter=M&search=thirteen High Holy Days Jewish prayer and ritual texts Jewish theology Ten Days of Repentance