And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: The Jewish people fashioned the Golden Calf (see Exodus, chapter 32) only to give a claim to penitents, as it is stated after the revelation at Sinai: “Who would give that they had such a heart as this always, to fear Me, and keep all My commandments, that it might be good for them, and with their children forever” (Deuteronomy 5:25).

As in to say they were ruled over their evil inclinations, and it was not fitting for their yetzer to overcome them, rather it was the decree of the King to rule them in order to give an opening for Baal Teshuvas, that if a sinner will say "I won't do teshuva, He will never accept me", say to him go out and learn from the story of the egel that they atoned for and received Teshuva.

(30) The next day Moses said to the people, “You have been guilty of a great sin. Yet I will now go up to Hashem; perhaps I may win forgiveness for your sin.”(31) Moses went back to Hashem and said, “Alas, this people is guilty of a great sin in making for themselves a god of gold.(32) Now, if You will forgive their sin [well and good]; but if not, erase me from the record which You have written!”(33) But Hashem said to Moses, “He who has sinned against Me, him only will I erase from My record.

(18) He said, “Oh, let me behold Your Presence!”(19) And He answered, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name Hashem, and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show.(20) But,” He said, “you cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live.”(21) And Hashem said, “See, there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the rock(22) and, as My Presence passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with My hand until I have passed by.(23) Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”

(5) Hashem came down in a cloud; He stood with him there, and proclaimed the name Hashem.(6) Hashem passed before him and proclaimed: “HASHEM! HASHEM! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness,(7) extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.”

§ The verse states: “And Hashem passed by before him, and proclaimed” (Exodus 34:6). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Were it not explicitly written in the verse, it would be impossible to say this, as it would be insulting to God’s honor. The verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, wrapped Himself in a prayer shawl like a prayer leader and showed Moses the structure of the order of the prayer. He said to him: Whenever the Jewish people sin, let them act before Me in accordance with this order. Let the prayer leader wrap himself in a prayer shawl and publicly recite the thirteen attributes of mercy, and I will forgive them.

The verse continues: “Hashem, Hashem,” and it should be understood as follows: I am He before a person sins, and I am He after a person sins and performs repentance, as God does not recall for him his first sins, since He is always “God, merciful and gracious” (Exodus 34:6).

Rav Yehuda said: A covenant was made with the thirteen attributes that they will not return empty-handed, meaning that if one mentions them, he will certainly be answered, as it is stated in this regard: “Behold, I make a covenant” (Exodus 34:10).

(5) Hashem is your guardian, the Hashem is your protection at your right hand.

The Baal Shem ‎Tov used [to] repeatedly to tell his listeners that ‎psalms 121:5 in which the psalmist describes Hashem as being ‎our protective angel and likening Him to a shadow, i.e. ‎ה' צלך על יד ‏ימינך‎, “Hashem your shadow on your right side.” A shadow ‎always follows precisely what the owner of the shadow is doing. ‎Similarly, what Hashem does reflects exactly what man had done ‎before. Seeing that this is so, it is imperative that man donates to ‎charity, displays compassion with the ones less fortunate than he ‎by performing kind deeds for them, as Hashem, seeing this will ‎reciprocate in kind with people who do this...