God Teaches Moses How to Pray
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, [as it would be insulting to God’s honor. The verse] teaches that the Holy One 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 Lord, the Lord: 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).
Notes
Words in brackets appear in the original translation.
Credits
From Koren Talmud Bavli, Noé Edition, trans. Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (Jerusalem: Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019). Accessed via the William Davidson digital edition, sefaria.org. Adapted with permission of Koren Publishers Ltd.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
