One of the most recognizable and oft-repeated passages in the High Holy Day liturgy is the passage describing the “Thirteen Attributes” of G-d:
“The Lord! The Lord! A G-d compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, rich in steadfast kindness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and remitting all punishment.”
Beside its obvious emphasis on G-d’s mercy, the biblical source of this prayer adds a deeper layer of meaning. In the Torah, the prayer is part of the Golden Calf story. After we built that idol G-d was angry enough to destroy us. But Moses talks G-d down, basically pleading that G-d rescued us from Egypt for a purpose, and our destruction would leave that divine purpose unfulfilled.
G-d does relent, and Moses asks for a demonstration of G-d’s forgiveness. The Thirteen Attributes are that demonstration. The rabbis even went so far as to portray G-d as a heavenly shaliach tzibbur, i.e., the Divine Cantor, teaching Moses how it is done:
“The Holy One drew His tallit around Him like the shaliach tzibbur and showed Moses how to pray. He said to him, ‘Whenever Israel sins, let them recite the Thirteen Attributes before me and I will forgive them.’”
And here’s an added twist. Moses was on Sinai for forty days. This is a parallel to the 40 days from the beginning of Elul to Yom Kippur. Just as Moses’ forty days brought about atonement for Israel’s sins, so too our forty days, if embraced as a spiritual journey of reconciliation, will bring about atonement for ours.
That’s the promise of the Thirteen Attributes. And every time we recite it, we should ask ourselves the question: what is the Divine purpose we are tasked to fulfill?