The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy or Shelosh-'Esreh Middot enumerated in Exodus 34:6-7 are the attributes with which, according to Jewish tradition, God governs the world. According to the explanation of Maimonides

Maimonides

Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

 these attributes must not be regarded as qualities inherent in God, but merely as the method of His activity, by which the divine governance appears to the human observer to be controlled. In the Sifre

Sifre

Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...

, however, these attributes are not called "middot," which may mean "quality" as well as "rule" and "measure", but "derakim" (ways), since they are the ways of God which Moses prayed to know and which God proclaimed to him.

Division

The number thirteen is adopted from Talmudic and rabbinic tradition. There are divergent opinions as to which word they begin and with which they conclude. According to some the thirteen attributes begin with the first "Adonai," in verse 6, and end with the word "ve-nakeh" in verse 7. The single attributes are contained in the verses as follows:

1. Adonai — compassion before a person sins;
2. Adonai — compassion after a person has sinned;
3. El — mighty in compassion to give all creatures according to their need;
4. Rachum — merciful, that humankind may not be distressed;
5. Chanun — gracious if humankind is already in distress;
6. Erech appayim — slow to anger;
7. Rav chesed — plenteous in mercy;
8. Emet — truth;
9. Notzer chesed laalafim — keeping mercy unto thousands;
10. Noseh avon — forgiving iniquity;
11. Noseh peshah — forgiving transgression;
12. Noseh chatah — forgiving sin;
13. Venakeh — and pardoning.

According to others the thirteen attributes begin only with the second "Adonai," since the first one is the subject of "va-yikra" (and He proclaimed). To secure the number thirteen, some count "noẓer ḥesed la-alafim" as two (Nissim in Tos. l.c.), while others divide "erek appayim" into two, since forbearance is shown both to the good and to the wicked (comp. the gloss on Tosafot, l.c. and Ibn Ezra, l.c.), and still others end the thirteenth middah with "lo yenaḳeh" (he does not pardon; Maimonides, "Pe'er ha-Dor," p. 19b), Lemberg, 1859), this being considered a good quality, since through punishment man is moved to repentance, after which he is pardoned and pure (comp. Yoma 86a; Aaron b. Elijah, l.c.; and "'Ez ha-Ḥayyim," ch. xcii.). Others term "we-naḳeh lo yenaḳeh" a single middah, the thirteenth being, in their opinion, "poḳed 'awon abot 'al-banim" (visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children), "this being regarded as compassionate since the transgressor is not punished immediately" (Maimonides, l.c.; Aaron b. Ḥayyim, l.c.; comp. also "Da'at Zeḳenim").

Liturgical usage

The general usage is that the various recitations of the thirteen middot begin with the first "Adonai" and conclude with "ve-nakeh."

They must not be recited by only one person in prayer, but by an entire congregation, which must consist of at least ten persons, a minyan

Minyan

A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....

.

• They are recited on every holy day, except on Shabbat
  Shabbat
  Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
  
  , when the Torah scroll is taken from the Ark
  Ark (synagogue)
  The Torah ark or ark in a synagogue is known in Hebrew as the Aron Kodesh by the Ashkenazim and as the Hekhál amongst most Sefardim. It is generally a receptacle, or ornamental closet, which contains each synagogue's Torah scrolls...
  
  .
• It is also customary that on the fast-days on which Ex. xxxii. 11-14 and xxxiv. 1-10 are read, the reader stops at the word "Vayikra" in order that the congregation may recite the thirteen attributes, after which he continues his reading.
• The thirteen attributes are very frequently recited in penitential prayers
  Selichot
  Selichot or slichot are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on Fast Days...
  
   as in the case in the seliḥah of the eve of the New Year
  Rosh Hashanah
  Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
  
  , which is repeated at the morning service on the Day of Atonement
  Day of Atonement
  Day of Atonement may refer to:*Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement* Day of Atonement , a national day established in 1995 by the Nation of Islam...
  
  , and which begins with the words "Shelosh 'esreh middot," and in the pizmon Ezkera Elohim of Amittai b. Shephatiah for the fifth day of repentance
  Ten Days of Repentance
  The Ten Days of Repentance are the first ten days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, usually sometime in the month of September, beginning with the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah and ending with the conclusion of Yom Kippur.-Introduction:...
  
  , which is recited also at the evening service on the Day of Atonement (and in some liturgies is the final seliḥah of the liturgy of Neilah
  Ne'ila
  Ne'ila, the concluding service, is a special Jewish prayer service that is held only on Yom Kippur. It is the time when final prayers of repentance are recited at the closing of Yom Kippur....
  
   concluding Yom Kippur), and in which the attribute of compassion is particularly invoked.
• On fast-days as well as during the week before the New Year (the so-called seliḥot days), and on the days between the New Year and the Day of Atonement, called the days of repentance, many penitential prayers are recited in addition to the usual daily prayers. After every such petition the thirteen middot are recited with their introductory prayer, the well-known El Melech yoshev, which runs as follows: "Almighty King, sittest on the throne of mercy, showing forth Thy compassion, and forgiving the sins of Thy people by ever taking away their former guilt, ofttimes granting pardon unto sinners and forgiveness to the transgressors, making manifest Thy goodness both to body and to soul, nor punishing them according to their iniquity; Almighty One, as Thou hast taught us to recite the thirteen [middot], so remember now the thirteenfold covenant, as Thou didst in former days proclaim it to the modest one [Moses], even as it is written . . ." (then follow the verses Ex. xxxiv. 5-7a and 9b).

See also

• Thirteen Principles of Faith
• Attributes of God
  Attributes of God
  The Attributes of God in Christian theology are those characteristics of God revealed in the Bible.-Classification:Many Reformed theologians distinguish between the communicable attributes and the incommunicable attributes...