Lucky #13By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz
Moshe was to carve two tablets to replace those he had broken. He then had to climb Mt. Sinai again to repeat the process of receiving the Law. G-d’s Presence manifested in a cloud and Moshe called out in His Name. G-d revealed His Divine attributes to Moshe, that He is all-powerful, merciful, kind, slow to anger, etc. (We’ll list them all at the end of the aliyah. These verses may be a familiar from both the Selichos prayer and removing the from the Ark on Festivals.)
Moshe prayed that G-d indeed accompany them. The people may be stubborn, so may He always forgive them and make them His special nation.
Now, the 13 Divine attributes. G-d is: (1) merciful before a person sins; (2) merciful even after a person sins; (3) all-powerful; (4) compassionate; (5) gracious; (6) slow to anger; (7) full of kindness; (8) and full of truth. He: (9) stores up kindness for future generations, numbering into the thousands; (10) forgives intentional sins; (11) forgives sins intended to spite Him; (12) forgives sins committed through apathy; and (13) cleanses sin, although only if one repents. If not, the sin could be revisited for three or four generations, if a person’s descendants persist in the same behavior. Still, all in all, it’s a pretty sweet deal!