Thirteen Attributes of Mercy

Many Blessings, Prayers, and Phrases have 13 words and frequently the Sages have suggested we use the 13 Attributes of Mercy as Kavenot for these Hebrew words. Today's class will give us information about the 13 Attributes so that we can use the Kavenot more effectively. It is also strongly suggested to say/sing the 13 Attributes every day. Why? (See Below)

Many people know of the 13 Attributes from singing them when the Ark of the Torah is open during the Holidays. There are actually two sets of 13 Attributes. One is revealed in the Torah Scroll by HaShem to Moshe after the Chet of the Golden Calf. The Kabbalists reveal that this is the 13 Attributes of Zeir Anpin.

The other set of Attributes is revealed by the Prophet Micah. The Kabbalists teach that this set is the 13 Attributes of Arich Anpin. We will delve into the story behind these revelations as well.

Here are the 13 Attributes of Arich Anpin (Great Face)

The number of Attribute 1, 7, and 10 appear at the end of the Hebrew rather than the beginning. This is due to an issue with switching from Hebrew to English in the browser. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

This is Chapter 7 Verses 18 to 20 for the Prophet Micah.

Verse 18

מי אל כמוך(1)(2) נשא עון (3) ועבר על-פשע (4) לשארית נחלתו (5) לא-החזיק לעד אפו (6) כי-חפץ חסד הוא

Verse 19

ישוב ירחמנו(7) (8) יכבש עונתינו (9) ותשליך במצלות ים כל-חטאותם

Verse 20

תתן אמת ליעקב(10) (11) חסד לאברהם (12) אשר-נשבעת לאבתינו (13) מימי קדם

Translation of Verse 18

(1)Who is a God like unto Thee, (2) that pardoneth the iniquity, (3)and passeth by the transgression (4)of the remnant of His heritage? (5)He retaineth not His anger for ever, (6)because He delighteth in mercy.

Translation of Verse 19

(7)He will again have compassion upon us; (8)He will subdue our iniquities; (9)and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Translation of Verse 20

(10)Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob,(11) mercy to Abraham, (12)as Thou hast sworn unto our fathers (13)from the days of old.

Here are the 13 Attributes of Zeir Anpin (Small Face)

The number of Attribute 8 appear at the end of the Hebrew rather than the beginning. This is due to an issue with switching from Hebrew to English in the browser. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

This is from Exodus Chapter 34 Verses 6 and 7 Revealed to Moshe as a technique to be forgiven by HaShem. This revelation took place after the Chet (Sin) of the Golden Calf.

Verse 6

ויעבר יהוה על-פניו ויקרא יהוה יהוה (1) אל (2) רחום (3) וחנון (4) ארך (5) אפים (6) ורב- חסד (7) ואמת

Verse 7

נצר חסד (8) (9) לאלפים (10) נשא עון (11) ופשע (12) וחטאה (13) ונקה לא ינקה פקד עון אבות על-בנים ועל-בני בנים על-שלשים ועל-רבעים

Translation of Verse 6

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, (1) God, (2) merciful and (3) gracious, (4) long-suffering, and (5) abundant in (6) goodness (7) and truth;

Translation of Verse 7

(8)keeping mercy unto the (9) thousandth generation, (10) forgiving iniquity and (11) transgression and (12) sin; (13) (Cleansing) and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.'

Relationship of the two sets of 13 Attributes

Here is a short explanation of the relationship between the two sets of Attributes from the website www.azamra.org.

The three closing verses of Micah invoke God's Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, which were revealed to Moses at Sinai. While the Thirteen Attributes as revealed to Moses (Exodus 34:6-7) are considered kabbalistically as their "outer vessels", the attributes as invoked by Micah allude to the flow of inner blessing that is drawn down to the lower worlds through these vessels (Zohar, Idra Rabba, Naso 130b).

What does this mean?

The set of Attributes revealed by the Prophet Micah is the soul while the Attributes revealed by Moshe in Sefer Shemot of the Torah is the body. Body means external; Soul means internal. The Partzuf (Kabbalistic term meaning a complete structure of 10 Sefirot) Arich Anpin (Large Face) is at the level of Keter; while the Partzuf Zeir Anpin is at the level of the Vav in the Tetragrammaton. These are metaphors that students of Kabbalah do not need to learn in order to utilize the tools of Kabbalah.

In essence the 13 Attributes of Mercy are energy that the Creator has promised to always invoke the Creator's forgiveness. The Mekubalim have us say/sing The Micah Set while thinking of the Exodus Set during the morning hours and sing the Exodus Set while thinking of the Micah Set during the afternoon hours.

The Mekubalim teach us that the highest form of sharing is to give pleasure to the Creator by doing an action with His pleasure in mind. When we do this, say the 13 Attributes as described above, the Mekubalim teach that we are forgiven for any action of ours that is negative; also any judgments that we need to receive as wake up calls are sweetened to be less painful.

Here are the Attributes in Tandem along with a Transliteration and an English Translation. The right side is the Micah Set and the left side is the Exodus Set.

Attribute 1

מי אל כמוך = אל

Transliteration

El = Me El Camocha

Translation

God (El) (Keter) = Who is a God (El) Like You?

Not included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 2

נשא עון = רחום

Transliteration

RaChum = NoSey AhVon

Translation

Compassionate (Chochmah) = Who Bears Iniquity

Not included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 3

ועבר על פשע = וחנון

Transliteration

VeChanun = VeOver Ahl Peshah

Translation

Gracious = And Overlooks Sin

Not included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 4

לשארית נחלתו = ארך

Transliteration

Erech = Lishayrit NaChalato

Translation

Greatly = For the Remnant of His Heritage

Included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 5

לא החזיק לעד אפו = אפים

Transliteration

APayim = Lo HehChehZeke LaAhd APoh

Translation

Patient = He did not retain His Anger Forever

Included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 6

כי חפץ חסד הוא = ורב חסד

Transliteration

VeRav Chesed = Key Chefetz Chesed Who

Translation

Abounding with Kindness = For He Desires Kindness

Included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 7

ישוב ירחמנו = ואמת

Transliteration

VeEhMeT = Yashuv YeRaChaMayNu

Translation

And Truth = He shall again have Mercy Over Us

Not included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 8

יכבש עונתינו = נצר חסד

Transliteration

Netzar Chesed = YikBosh AhVonotaynu

Translation

He Keeps Kindness = And Suppress Our Iniquities

The large Nun prevents falling for the people who See or Say Netzar. Another reason for the Large Nun is the word Tzar means narrow which is the opposite of the Creator. The large Nun makes sure we do not misinterpret the word to be narrow 50 which would be a hint to the negative side.

Not included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 9

ותשלך במצלות ים כל חטאתם = לאלפים

Transliteration

LaALaFiM = VeTashLich BiMZuLot Yam Chol ChaToTaM

Translation

For the Thousands

Not included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 10

תתן אמת ליעקב = נשא עון

Transliteration

NoSay AhVoN = TeTaiN EhMet LaYaAhKoV

Translation

He Bears Iniquity = You Grant Truth to Yaacov

Included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 11

חסד לאברהם = ופשע

Transliteration

VeFehSHah = Chesed LaAVRaHaM

Translation

And Sin = Kindness to Avraham

Included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 12

אשר נשבעת לאבתינו = וחטאה

Transliteration

VeCHaTaAh = ASheR NeSHBaTah

Translation

And Transgression = As you have vowed to our Forefathers

Not included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Attribute 13

מימי קדם = ונקה

Transliteration

VeNaKay = MeMay KeDeM

Translation

And Cleanses = And From The Earliest Days

Included in the 9 Attributes in Numbers Chapter 14 Verse 19

Why are there 13 Attributes?

13 is one more than 12. 13 represents the idea of unity as it is the gematria of Echad which translates as unity or oneness or the number one. 12 is a number that represents physicality which is why there are 12 Signs of the Zodiac and 12 Tribes in Israel. One more than 12 is 13 representing the combining of all of the components into the Toral unity. This relates to the idea of Mercy because each component is part of the whole. The component does not loose its identity and gains its connection to unity.

Let's discuss the additional words from the Verses for the Micah Attributes

Let's discuss the additional words from the Verses for the Exodus Attributes

Prior to the Exodus 13 Attributes being said, we say HaShem HaShem. Rabbi Avraham Sutton teaches that the First Hashem is a connection to Arich Anpin and the second HaShem is a connection to Zeir Anpin and by these two Names we start the flow of the energy of the Attributes into our world for cleansing and for sweetening judgment.

The Exodus 13 Attributes are used during the Slichot Prayers during the Elul to Yom Kippur Calendar Period. When these are said they use the introductory words ויעבר יהוה על-פניו ויקרא יהוה יהוה. The transliteration of these words are Vayavor HaShem All Panav Vayikra HaShem HaShem. These words are to establish a Kavenah of Cleansing at the beginning and the last Attributes are also cleansing.

Normally i do not tell my students that speaking these Attributes in a Language other than Hebrew is NOT OK. In this particular basis, it must be said in Hebrew to work. What is the reason? You will know the reason when you see it work.

The Halacha of the 13 Attributes indicates that the 13 Attributes from Exodus may not be said outside of a Minyan. Never by oneself. UNLESS YOU SING THEM. This does not apply to the 13 Attributes from Micah but it is always better to sing verses in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings.

Here are example recordings of both sets of Attributes. Check for the tune that resonates with you on You Tube as well. Do not just accept what resonates for me.

Now let us Look at the Kavenah involved in the Exodus Attributes

General Kavenah

No of Words (with the 2 HaShems) = 18

No of Letters (with the 2 HaShems) = 67

What does this mean and how do i use it?

18 is the gematria of the word Chai which means Life. Saying these words daily leads you to Life Eternal and is the Kavenah as revealed by the Mekubalim.

67 is the gematria of the word Binah which is the Name of the Sefirah. When we sing these words we are connecting to the Sefirah called Mother as well as Binah. It is Mother that we must connect with in order to be alive.

Exodus Attribute 1

Exodus Attribute 2

Exodus Attribute 3

Exodus Attribute 4

Exodus Attribute 5

Exodus Attribute 6

Exodus Attribute 7

Exodus Attribute 8

Exodus Attribute 9

Exodus Attribute 10

Exodus Attribute 11

Exodus Attribute 12

Exodus Attribute 13

Now let us Look at the Kavenah involved in the Micah Attributes

General Kavenah

No of Words = 32

No of Letters = 142

What does this mean and how do i use it?

32 is the gematria of the word Lev לב which translates as heart. When one is singing these words one is balancing all of the emotions associated with the word heart.

142 is composed of 100 + 42. 100 represents 10 x 10. 100 represents the 10 Sefirot in their corrected form of 10 Sefirot within 10 Sefirot. 42, as we know from the Ana Bekoach, is a number dealing with Creation. When we say these words we are connecting to the energy of Creation after Gmar Tikune. After the Correction. After Mashiach!

Micah Attribute 1

Micah Attribute 2

Micah Attribute 3

Micah Attribute 4

Micah Attribute 5

Micah Attribute 6

Micah Attribute 7

Micah Attribute 8

Micah Attribute 9

Micah Attribute 10

Micah Attribute 11

Micah Attribute 12

Micah Attribute 13