Musar sur L’Exode 34:6

Those who subdue their souls' anger and prevail upon their nature to restrain it, have been described as noble and characterized as exalted. Thus the sage said (Prov. xvi. 32), "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty." This is one of the thirteen attributes ascribed to God, exalted is He, in the passage (Ex. xxxiv. 6), "And the Lord passed by before him," etc. It is said that as scab is a disease of the body, so is wrath a disease of the soul. The moral man must not become wrathful often, because, by reason of his wrath, he is compelled to bear burdens. Thus saith the sage (Prov. xix. 19), "A man of great wrath shall bear punishment."

The one commandment in this portion which comprises all other commandments is the commandment to "walk in G–d's ways." Since man has been created in the image of G–d, it behooves him to emulate G–d to the extent he is able to. He has to see to it that every one of his limbs is in perfect condition, for each limb has been charged with the performance of some commandment. The same applies to our spiritual and emotional faculties. We know that G–d is gracious; hence we too must display this trait in our dealings with other people. Our sages quote G–d as saying: כל זמן שבני עוסקים כסדר הזה, "As long as My children conform to this order (of prayer) they will not leave empty-handed". [The reference is to the recital of the 13 attributes of G–d which He taught Moses in response to his request for knowledge how to assuage His anger. Ed.] We all know how many times we recite the thirteen attributes and nothing seems to happen and our sins do not seem to disappear. This is because we did not heed the wording of the promise. The sages spoke about G–d having demanded that we practice, עוסקים, the attributes of G–d, not merely recite them during a confessional [cf. Alshich and Tzror Hamor on Exodus 34,6. Ed.] והלכת בדרכיו, "and you will walk in His ways." Fulfilling this part of the Torah's blueprint for our relationship with G–d will qualify us to be the מרכבה, the carrier of G–d's Presence on earth. Man, in the way he was originally constructed, was after all the reflection of G–d on earth. Who could better qualify as the מרכבה? We have already described elsewhere how the 7 sections of our body represent the seven parts of the concept בנין. By sanctifying our body we will be able to recapture the lofty niveau Adam possessed and become like the דמות עליון, a replica of the form in the highest regions.

Mercy is a most praiseworthy quality and is one of the thirteen attributes associated with the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is written: "Merciful and Gracious" (Exod. 34:6). A man should do as much as he can to conduct himself in this quality. And just as a person desires people to have mercy upon him in the hour of his need, so it is proper for him that he should have mercy upon anyone who is in need, as Scripture says: "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18).