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Posts: 4849
Wed, 14-Aug-13 20:32:54
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Proteus wrote:Uri, thank you for that detailed response. I'm sure I'll have more questions once I've got this much digested. Could you say more about the Thirteen Attributes; as, if I'm not mistaken, I've been told that G-d has no attributes.
Exodus 34:5-7(Soncino) - (5) And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. (6) And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth; (7) keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.'
5-7. The Revelation of God's Nature in the Thirteen Attributes God's 'ways' are now proclaimed unto Moses in the thirteen characteristic qualities of the Divine Nature, enumerated in v.6 and 7. Judaism has been very chary of definitions of God. He is the En sof, the Infinite, the Undefinable. However, the Thirteen Atteibutes give us a definition of God in ethical terms. All schools of Jewish thought agree that these momentous and sublime attributes enshrine some of the most distinctive doctrines of Judaism. The Rabbis made v. 6 and 7, containing the Thirteen Attributes of Divine Mercy, the dominant refrain in all prayers of repentance. 5. stood. The subject is 'the Lord' (Ibn Ezra, Nachmanides). 6. proclaimed. God reveals the 'name of the Lord', i.e. His characteristic qualities, to Moses. The Rabbis held that there are thirteen distinct attributes in these two verses; thigh there are differences as to their precise enumeration. The enumeration in the following comments in in accordance with the views of Rabbeinu Tam, Ibn Ezra, Mendelsohn and Reggio. the Lord, the Lord. Heb. Adonay, Adonay (i and ii). Adonay denotes God in His attribute of mercy; and the repetition is explained in the Talmud as meaning, 'I am the merciful God before a man commits a sin, and I am the same merciful and forgiving God after a man has sinned. Whatever change has to be wrought, must be in the heart of the sinner; not in the nature of the Deity. He is the same after a man has sinned, as He was before a man has sinned.' God. Heb. el (iii). The all-mighty Lord of the Universe, Ruler of Nature and mankind. merciful. Heb. rachum (iv); full of affectionate sympathy for the sufferings and miseries of human frailty. and gracious. Heb. ve'channun (v); assisting and helping; consoling the afflicted and raising up the oppressed. 'In man these two qualities manifest themselves fitfully and temporarily; מרחם וחונן. It is otherwise with God: in Him, compassion and grace are permanent, inherent and necessary emanations of His nature. Hence, He alone can be spoken of as rachum ve-channun' (Mendelsohn). long-suffering. Or, 'slow to anger.' Heb. erech appayim (vi); not hastening to punish the sinner, but affording him opportunities to retrace his evel courses. abundant in goodness. Or plenteous in mercy. Heb. rav chesed (vii); granting His gifts and blessings beyond the deserts of man. and truth. Heb. ve'emet (viii); eternally true to Himself, pursuing His inscrutable plans for the salvation of mankind, and rewarding those who are obedient to His will. Note that 'chesed', lovingkindness, precedes 'emet,' truth, both here and generally throughout Scripture; as if to say, 'Speak the truth by all means; but be quite sure that you speak the truth in love.' 7. keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation. Heb. notzer chesed la'alafim (ix). Remembering the good deeds of the ancestors to the thousandth generation, and reserving reward and recompense to the remotest descendants. forgiving iniquity. Heb. noseh avon (x); bearing with indulgence the failings of man, and by forgiveness restoring him to the original purity of his soul. The Heb. for 'iniquity' is avon; sins committed from evil disposition. transgression. Heb. pesha (xi); evil deeds springing from malice and rebellion against the Divine. sin. Heb. chattaah (xii); shortcomings due to heedlessness and error. will by no means clear the guilty. i.e. He will not allow the guilty to pass unpunished. Heb. venakkeh lo yenakkeh (xiii). The Rabbis explain: venakkeh 'acquitting--the penitent; lo yenakkeh, but not acquitting--the impenitent.' He is merciful and gracious and forgiving; but He will never obliterate the eternal and unbridgeable distinction between light and darkness, between good and evil. God cannot leave repeated wickedness and obstinate persistence in evil entirely unpunished. His goodness cannot destroy His justice. The unfailing and impartial consequences of sin help man to perceive that there is no 'chance' in morals. The punishments of sin are thus no vindictive, but remedial. visiting ... upon the children. See xx, 5. This law relates only to consequences of sin. Pardon is not the remission of the penalty, but the forgiveness of the guilt and the removal of the sinfulness. The misdeeds of those who are God's enemies are visited only to the third and fourth generation, whereas His mercy to those who love Him is unto a thousand generations.
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