Elul 22: An Episcopal Meditation on the Thirteen Attributes

Sometimes our understanding of a passage is enriched by other religious traditions. Such is the case with our next entry. Padre Frito is an Episcopal priest who has become a friend and a mentor. He shares his wisdom with us, attribute by attribute. One of the things he reminds us that every translation is indeed a commentary. He uses the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This enhances some of his points. I answer his commentary with my own below in Italics.

by Padre Frito (aka Meshugenah Goy)

Exodus 34:6-7 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

  1. Adonai, The Lord
    The Lord of “community”. G-d called the children of Israel, a community, to move from slavery to freedom.  No Torah, no rules, only a relationship with an unseen and unknown god who communicated with one man.  “I will be your G-d and you will be my people.”  To forgive there must be TRUST between both parties.  It had to be tough being community to trust in this one G-d they had never seen but had heard the stories of this one G-d – the G-d of creation and relationship with their ancestors.

Not only unknown and unseen, but for all intensive purposes the reason they were enslaved. What could this G-d possibly do compared with Pharaoh who was also seen as a g-d? Trust and understanding their place in history was an important part to gaining faith.

2. Adonai, The Lord
The Lord of “individual”.   Moses.  Born of Hebrew slaves, his mother hid her son in the bulrushes to save his life, discovered and taken into the house of Pharaoh, educated and knowing he was neither fully Egyptian nor Hebrew.  Seeing the injustice and desiring deep within something better for both people.  Yet, there would be no change of Pharaoh’s heart.  Moses took justice into his own hands when the Egyptian was beating the Hebrew slave, murdering the Egyptian.  God uses individuals many times to bring about change within communities and society.  Was there any forgiveness here?  I don’t see it in the story and we don’t know if the fugitive Moses ever asked G-d for forgiveness for this death.  Fleeing from Egypt, Moses doesn’t realize what G-d has in store for him.  Maybe Moses’ forgiveness came by way of going back to face Pharaoh and to lead the Hebrew children out of Egypt.

The question of why G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart is an important one. Aren’t all people entitled to repent, make teshuva, seek forgiveness until the day of their death? But Pharaoh keeps making choices that essentially harden his own heart. That argument makes some sense to me until I realize that the Egyptians are punished as well. Then I am reminded that the Egyptians didn’t stop Pharaoh. Your question about did Moses seek forgiveness from G-d for murdering the taskmaster is one I have not considered. Intriguing.

3. El, God
It is nice to have your very own G-d.  If we are honest we have at one time or another wanted God to smite our enemies, curse our enemies, or at least give them a nasty paper cut for treating us – G-d’s children badly.  But G-d is creator of all and G-d of all.  G-d in His wisdom has chosen communities and people to represent him to the rest of the world – to be an example to others about this crazy G-d who wants to have a relationship with his creation.  Anne Lamont, one of my favorite spiritual authors reminds us that God cannot be tamed or domesticated when she writes, “You can safely assume you’ve created G-d in your own image when it turns out that G-d hates all the same people you do.”   A forgiving G-d is not an intellectual or copyrighted property by anyone or community. G-d created the best in all of creation and us so that we can call out the best in each other and our communities so that we can forgive each other when we fail to live up to loving G-d and our neighbors as ourselves.

We talk about the fact that each of the patriarchs (and matriarchs) had their own vision of the one G-d. That’s why in our prayer Avot, the rabbis said the G-d of our ancestors, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, the G-d of Jacob when it could have just said the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Love the line a “forgiving G-d is not an intellectual or copyrighted property.”

4. Rachum Merciful
An Anglican priest penned the following words to a beloved hymn that sums up for me character of G-d as merciful.  Here is part of those words from the hymn There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy:

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows
Are more felt than up in Heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings
Have such kindly judgment given.

There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

Souls of men! why will ye scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts! why will ye wander

From a love so true and deep?
It is God: His love looks mighty,
But is mightier than it seems;
Tis our Father: and His fondness
Goes far out beyond our dreams.

But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own

I like the idea of mercy being wide. There is a spaciousness. The idea that we should not make G-d’s love too narrow by limiting it ourselves fits with Rambam who said that we couldn’t discuss G-d because that would put a limit on G-d.  And the hymn is correct, we get trapped in thinking that if we are strict, G-d will love us more. Not true. The haftarah for Yom Kippur is clear. G-d does not want our sacrifices or our exacting fasts, G-d wants our acts of love and kindness. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, freeing the captive.

5. Chanun, Gracious
When I think of graciousness my mind usually heads toward Emily Post or Leticia Baldridge (okay, you can kinda figure out how old I am).  But graciousness from a religious understanding is more about hospitality.  Both G-d and culture of the Near East was about hospitality.  My understanding of hospitality is to offer safety, comfort, food, rest and anything else the guest should need.  G-d invited the Hebrew children and all of us today into “gracious” space that allows a place for forgiveness to take place.  Forgiveness can only happen in places where gracious hospitality exists.   It was true at Sinai and true today in shuls, churches, mosques, and other houses of worship.  Wherever true graciousness exists forgiveness can take place.

I argued with my thesis advisor at length about grace. He said that it is not a Jewish concept. Yet here it is. I like the connection you draw between hospitality and forgiveness. Our congregations need to be open wide, wide enough for everyone to enter. That is part of grace. Is grace distinct from graciousness? Some would argue that only G-d has grace. We, as humans, can have graciousness.

6. Erech apayim Slow to anger
Does G-d get angry?  It is one of those questions that my former spiritual director would say that it depends on what type of anger you are talking about.  There is “good” anger and there is “bad” anger.  Good anger is a hot white holy anger, it is about shame and honor and is displeased by bad behavior by individuals and community.  Holy anger still loves the one who has wronged them.  Holy anger never hates, seeks destruction or annihilation.  Do we get angry?  Of course, but is it good anger or bad anger.

And how quickly does it “blow over.” Is it OK to have righteous anger? Can we separate righteous anger from other angers? Whose righteousness? I am not sure about your use of the word shame. Shame is different from embarrassment or guilt. It is a difficult emotion to heal from, very deep.

7. Rav Chesed, Abundant in goodness
JHWH Jireh, God our provider.  Too often we take EVERYTHING FOR GRANTED. Creation, all that sustains our lives (oxygen, food, animals, each other).  G-d provided all of this to us for our nourishment, enjoyment, stewardship and care of.  We complain we don’t have what we need or enough because someone else has more.  But when we journey through scripture we see God providing for Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Moses, the children of Israel, the prophets and so on.  All that is GOOD has been given to us but seldom do we thank G-d with gratitude.  Instead we do it out of ritual or habit.  Even when we are forgetful to say thanks God still is good to us.  The story that impacts me most about goodness is when Jesus heals the 10 lepers and only one comes back to say thanks.  I want to be that one that recognizes and shows thanks for God’s goodness.

The rabbis taught that we should say 100 blessings of gratitude a day. Some days that is easier than others. Recognizing that goodness comes from G-d is important. One of those blessings says, “Praised are You, Lord our G-d, who forms light and creates darkness, who makes peace and creates all things.” All things come from G-d, good and bad. It can be a hard message. The attribute says that G-d abounds in lovingkindness, in chesed. Abundant love. There are enough resources. There is enough G-d. There is enough love.

8. Emet, truth
G-d is not afraid of our honesty.  But we are afraid of G-d when we sin.  Adam and Eve hiding, Abraham lying about Sarah being his sister, Jacob deceiving Isaac about birthright and David lying to the prophet Nathan on the murder of Uriah.  The ancients were not as concerned about right and wrong in the legal sense as they were about honor and shame in relationship (i.e. Honor thy father and mother).  A relationship needs to be based on truth.  But G-d shows over and over again his forgiveness to each of our fore fathers and mothers, and to us when we “fess” up.  We have to be honest to receive true forgiveness.

Emet is one of my favorite Hebrew words. The first, the last and the middle letter of the Hebrew alefbet. Another name for G-d. G-d does demand our truthfulness. G-d knows when we are lying. Perhaps what G-d really demands is that we become honest with ourselves. Then maybe we can feel G-d’s forgiveness that is there for all of us—if we are honest.

9. Notzer chesed l’alaphim, Showing compassion to a thousand generations
When I think of compassion I am reminded of the terribly grumpy and vindictive prophet Jonah.  Rather than take a message of repentance and forgiveness to people who were not part of “God’s chosen”, he would rather G-d destroy the city and people of Ninevah.  But the people do repent and seek God’s repentance receiving G-d’s forgiveness.  Jonah was more put out by G-d asking him to do something out of his comfort zone with people he did not believe deserved to be forgiven.  Do I believe that everyone is redeemable?  Am I willing to accept the other when they do repent and forgive?  Why should I only receive forgiveness and not my neighbor?

Jonah actually repeats some of the 13 Attributes in his argument, reminding G-d of G-d’s own nature: “He prayed to the Lord, saying, “O, Lord, isn’t this just what I said when I was still in my own country? That is why I fled beforehand to Tarshish. For I know that You are a compassionate and gracious[1] God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, renouncing punishment.” (Jonah 4:2) We live in the hope that G-d does show compassion and lovingkindness to the thousandth generation, and then a thousandth generations beyond that.

10. Noseh avon, Forgiving iniquity
David knew something about getting caught in sin and deception when Nathan confronted him about the murder of Uriah.  David knew the depth of his own depravity and he experienced the height of G-d’s forgiveness.  David became a man after G-d’s own heart I believe because he embraced G-d’s forgiving love.  We too can learn the lesson of G-d’s forgiving our sins.  Can we embrace G-d’s forgiveness as David did?  David would not have been able to write Psalm 103 if he had not embraced G-d’s forgiveness, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

It fascinated me that when President Clinton asked a rabbi how to repair his marriage, how to do teshuva, the rabbi referred him to Psalm 51, allegedly written by King David for the same transgressions. It says, in part:
Have mercy on me, O God,
According to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
   

Blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

 Knowing that King David could pen prayers like this, and President Clinton could use them to seek forgiveness, is the spirit in which I approach the chaggim, holidays.

11. Noseh peshah, Transgression
In my tradition we pray, “And forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who have trespassed against us.”  We are reminded that we sin by commission and omission in word, thought and deed every day.  BIG SINS and little sins against G-d, our neighbor and ourselves.  On the surface is looks pretty heavy, but if we are honest to G-d we step over others boundaries and our own.  The Torah was given to guide us to live in harmony with G-d and each other in community.  We can avoid transgression, breaking the known laws of G-d or the laws of loving G-d and neighbor, if we keep the Golden Rule of “doing unto others as we would have done unto us.”

Hillel said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The rest is commentary; go and study it.” While we are also taught to repent the day before we die, therefore every day, I am not sure that we actually sin every day.

12. Noseh chatah, Sin
For me sin is all about relationship.  I was taught that the Greek word for sin was “missing the mark” or “missing the target” when you think of archery and hitting the bulls eye on a target.  But that got interpreted by me as striving for perfection.  My definition of sin is whatever harms my relationship with God and others, whatever draws us away from G-d or each other is sin.  Whatever draws us closer to G-d and others is holy and good.  Sin is about broken relationship.  Forgiveness is about restored relationship with G-d and others.

The Hebrew for sin, chait, is also an archery term meaning to miss the mark. I am not sure the goal is perfection. Rather it is striving to hit the target. Most archers miss most of the time. The idea is we need to keep practicing. Baseball teams are lucky if they win .500. Hitters are lucky if their average is over 300. But we don’t call that a sin! I think what G-d demands is for us to try. Or in Micah’s words, “To justly, love mercy and walk humbly with G-d.”

13. V’nekah, and pardoning
Pardoning is the end of the verdict.  Knowing I have sinned or done the crime I expect to have the book thrown at me.  Judgment and knowing that I should make restitution and be penalized in some way.  With G-d all I can do is ask forgiveness.  There will always be consequences for my actions.  Maybe that is G-d’s judgment for my actions.  But pardoning is hearing forgiveness and BEING forgiven.

Pardoning always reminds me of the Thanksgiving turkey the president “pardons”. After a guilty verdict, someone can be pardoned, excused. That is being forgiven. Hearing that forgiveness given is important. That enables someone to move on. It is hard.



[1] The new JPS translation uses compassionate and gracious although the older edition has gracious and compassionate. The Hebrew is clear–anun v’rachum