The verse states: “And the Lord 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. 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.

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).

A covenant was made with the thirteen attributes - These 13: If Israel will recite them in prayer while fasting - they will not come back empty-handed.

God King, who sits on the throne of mercy, governs with kindness forgives the iniquities of His people. He removes them one by one, increasing forgiveness to sinners, and pardon to transgressors. Acting charitably with all who are of flesh and spirit; not according to their wickedness does He repay them.

God, You instructed us to recite the thirteen [divine] attributes; remember unto us this day the covenant of the thirteen [attributes], as You made them known to the humble one of old (Moses): As it is written in Your Torah, “And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and He proclaimed the Name of the Lord.” And there it is stated,

“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'YHVH, YHVH, Almighty, Merciful, Gracious, Slow to Anger, and Abundant in Kindness and Truth, Keeper of kindness for thousands of generations, Endurer of iniquity, and transgression, and sin; and Acquitter of those who repent.'”

“And pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your inheritance.”

(17) And YHWH said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have truly gained My favor and I have singled you out by name.” (18) He said, “Oh, let me behold Your Presence!” (Show me your glory). (19) And He answered, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name YHWH, 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 YHWH 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.”

1) And YHWH said to Moses: “Carve two tablets of stone like the first, and I will inscribe upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you shattered. (2) Be ready by morning, and in the morning come up to Mount Sinai and present yourself there to Me, on the top of the mountain. (3) No one else shall come up with you, and no one else shall be seen anywhere on the mountain; neither shall the flocks and the herds graze at the foot of this mountain.” (4) So Moses carved two tablets of stone, like the first, and early in the morning he went up on Mount Sinai, as YHWH had commanded him, taking the two stone tablets with him.

(5) And YHWH came down in a cloud; He stood with him there, and proclaimed the name YHWH. (6) And YHWH passed before him and proclaimed: “YHWH! YHWH! EL 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.”

(8) Moses hastened to bow low to the ground in homage, (9) and said, “If I have gained Your favor, Adonai, pray, let Adonai go in our midst, even though this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!”

(10) [God] said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will work such wonders as have not been wrought on all the earth or in any nation; and all the people who are with you shall see how awesome are GOD’s deeds that I will perform for you.

(11) And YHWH said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me, and how long will they have no faith in Me despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? (12) I will strike them with pestilence and disown them, and I will make of you a nation far more numerous than they!”

(13) But Moses said to YHWH, “When the Egyptians, from whose midst You brought up this people in Your might, hear the news, (14) they will tell it to the inhabitants of that land. Now they have heard that You, O YHWH, are in the midst of this people; that You, O YHWH, appear in plain sight when Your cloud rests over them and when You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. (15) If then You slay this people to a man, the nations who have heard Your fame will say, (16) ‘It must be because YHWH was powerless to bring that people into the land He had promised them on oath that He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

(17) Therefore, I pray, let ADONAI’s forbearance be great, as You have declared, saying, (18) ‘YHWH! slow to anger and abounding in kindness; forgiving iniquity and transgression; yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children, upon the third and fourth generations.’

(3) ברא אלהים ELOHIM CREATED — It does not state 'ברא ה “YHWH created, because at first He intended to create it (the world) to be placed under the attribute (rule) of Judgment, but He realised that the world could not thus endure and therefore gave precedence to the Midah of Mercy allying it with the Midah of Judgment. It is to this that what is written in (Genesis 2:4) alludes — “In the day that YHWH ELOHIM made earth and heaven”.

YHWH ELOHIM - (Liken to a) King that had empty cups. Said the king: If I pour hot (liquid) into them - they will break. Cold water - they will collapse. What did the king do? Mixed hot and cold, pored into them and they survived. In the same manner the KBH said: If I create the world with the midah of mercy - their sins will be too big. (If I create the world) in the midah of judgment - how can it stand?! Rather I will create it in (a mix of) midah of mercy and the Midah of din - and may it merit to stand.

"And God remembered Noach, etc." -

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said, "Woe to the evildoers who switch the [Divine] trait of mercy to the [Divine] trait of [strict] justice. In every place that it states 'YHVH,' it is the trait of mercy: 'YHVH, YHVH, merciful and compassionate God' (Exodus 34:6). And [yet] it is written (Genesis 6:5-6), 'And the Lord saw that the evil of man on the earth was very great[...] And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and the Lord said, "I will erase, etc."'

Happy are the righteous who switch the trait of [Divine] justice to the [divine] trait of mercy. In every place that it states 'Elohim,' it is the trait of Judgment: 'Judges (Elohim) you shall not curse' (Exodus 22:27); 'to the judges (elohim) the matter of both of them will come' (Exodus 22:8). And [yet] it is written (Exodus 2:24), 'And God heard their cries and God remembered His covenant'; '(Genesis 30:22), 'And God remembered Rachel';

Tania - it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, andI saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts,seated upon a high and exalted throne (see Isaiah 6).
And He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me. I said to Him“May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger,and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes, and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy,and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”
The Holy One, Blessed be He, nodded His head and accepted the blessing.

This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly. If God asked for and accepted a man’s blessing, all the more so that a man must value the blessing of another man.