Shalom Chaverim!
One of the ‘prayers’ we most associate with this season of teshuva is not really a prayer at all.
During slichot – which is this coming Saturday evening [8:00pm desert, 8:30pm Slichot at Temple Sinai] – we recite ‘The 13 Attributes’…which is a slightly edited version of the Torah’s quoting God giving a self-description of the qualities God has and uses to manage the world.
We then repeatedly recite ‘The 13 Attributes’ during our High Holiday services.
We recite this section of Exodus 34 again and again for two reasons. First, to remind God of these self-proclaimed attributes so that God will be sure to use these attributes in dealing with us:
יי יי אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן
אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת
נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה וְנַקֵּה…
Adonai, Adonai, a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, bearing iniquity, transgression and sin, and acquitting…. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!
The second reason we recite these attributes is to remind ourselves of the divine qualities that we should aim to imitate in how we live our lives. Like God, we too should be compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to many and being forgiving of ourselves and others…
Less traditional but similarly appropriate, is psalm 34. This psalm also provides a list of qualities we can aspire to for living a good life:
מִֽי־הָ֭אִישׁ הֶחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים אֹהֵ֥ב יָ֝מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב׃
נְצֹ֣ר לְשׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֝שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה׃
נְצֹ֣ר לְשׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֝שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה׃
Who is the person who is eager for life, who desires years of good fortune?
Guard tongue from evil, your lips from deceitful speech.
Shun evil and do good, seek peace and amity, and pursue it.
Listen to the melody of “Mi Ha’Ish” played by an old acquaintance of mine from Israel, world-renowned harpist Sunita Staneslow. Let this music be a meditation and consider:
What qualities do you have and most use to manage your world?
Do any begin to approach a correspondence with God’s Attributes?
Do you strive to fulfill the guidance of psalm 34 in how you speak and behave, in your values and interactions?
Which of these qualities do you feel you need to strengthen in the year to come?
Which single attribute of yourself can you emphasize this year to sweeten your life and the lives of those you love, which will bring you ‘better fortune’…or at least cause fewer tensions and hopefully lead to more peaceful relationships?
SHABBAT SHALOM!
Rabbi Michael