Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman

Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman was the assistant rabbi at Temple Sinai of Brookline, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.rabbishoshana.com.

Torrah and Kippah
Chol HaMo-eid Pesach

The 13 Middot: God Is Ethical and So Are We

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Lance J. Sussman
The Torah reading for Chol HaMo-eid Pesach includes the 13 Attributes of God. The Eternal One passes before Moses and proclaims (according to the prayer book version of the passage): “Adonai, Adonai, a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and granting pardon” ( Mishkan T’filah , [NY: CCAR, 2007], p. 496). Here, God self-describes as an ethical being.