רמב"ם הלכות דעות פרק א הלכה ה-ו
ומצווין אנו ללכת בדרכים האלו הבינונים והם הדרכים הטובים והישרים שנאמר והלכת בדרכיו
כך למדו בפירוש מצוה זו, מה הוא נקרא חנון אף אתה היה חנון, מה הוא נקרא רחום אף אתה היה רחום, מה הוא נקרא קדוש אף אתה היה קדוש, ועל דרך זו קראו הנביאים לאל בכל אותן הכנויין ארך אפים ורב חסד צדיק וישר תמים גבור וחזק וכיוצא בהן, להודיע שהן דרכים טובים וישרים וחייב אדם להנהיג עצמו בהן ולהדמות אליו כפי כחו
We are commanded to walk in these intermediate paths*—and they are good and straight paths as [Deuteronomy 28:9] states: “And you shall walk in God’s ways.” Our sages taught the following explanation of this commandment: Just as God is called “gracious,” you shall be gracious. Just as God is called “merciful,” you shall be merciful. Just as God is called “holy,” you shall be holy. In a similar manner, the prophets called God by other titles: “Slow to anger,” “Abundant in kindness,” “Righteous,” “Just,” “Perfect,” “Almighty,” “Powerful,” and the like. [They did so] to inform us that these are good and just paths. A person is obligated to accustom oneself to these paths and to resemble God to the extent of one’s ability. [Translation by Rabbi Za’ev Abramson and Rabbi Eliyahu Touger. Adapted by Rabbi Jill Jacobs]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. Why did the Sages describe God’s traits?
2. When Maimonides refers to the intermediate path, he means a character trait that is between two extremes: not too miserly and not too generous; not too proud and not too humble. How does this affect our understanding of God’s traits that we are commanded to emulate?
Time Period: Medieval (Geonim through the 16th Century)