כִּ֣י אֵ֤ל רַחוּם֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לֹ֥א יַרְפְּךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א יַשְׁחִיתֶ֑ךָ וְלֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּח֙ אֶת־בְּרִ֣ית אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לָהֶֽם׃
װאָרום ה׳ דײַן גאָט איז אַ דערבאַרימדיקער גאָט; ער װעט דיך ניט פֿאַרלאָזן און דיך ניט אומברענגען, און ער װעט ניט פֿאַרגעסן דעם בונד מיט דײַנע עלטערן, װאָס ער האָט זײ געשװאָרן.
Rabbeinu Bahya
Know that mention of the tetragrammaton, i.e. Hashem, for the first time is not an attribute but a reference to the very essence of the Lord. The second time this word appears it is used as an attribute, i.e. the invoking of the attribute of Mercy when the sinner has not previously confessed his sin and has repented it. G’d is appealed to as our father, someone who naturally extends his mercy to his children; just as the father is aware of his children’s needs, so G’d, our collective father, is aware of our needs. Such a father will not wait until his son asks for what he needs but will supply it even without being asked to do so. G’d therefore responds to the needs of even the wicked sinner as he too is one of His children. G’d employs this attribute even in His dealings with idolaters as we know from Sanhedrin 39 where G’d is telling the angels to suppress their songs of praise at a time when His creatures are drowning in the sea. He grieves over the need to exact this kind of retribution from them. In fact, G’d’s Mercy extends even to the animals as we know from Psalms 36,7: “Man and beast You deliver, O Lord.
The attribute אל is the one dealing with forgiveness in response to the sinner’s request. This is what is meant in Psalms 99,8 אל נושא היית להם, “You have been a forgiving G’d for them.”
The attributes רחום וחנון are two attributes applied in response to requests for forgiveness when such forgiveness is granted in connection with the sinner experiencing afflictions and having repented properly. We find that these terms always appear in connection with afflictions such as in Deut. 4,31 כי אל רחום ה’ אלו-היך לא ירפך ולא ישחיתך, “for Hashem, your G’d is a merciful G’d He will not abandon you nor destroy you.” The expression השחתה is found in connection with afflictions such as in Isaiah 52,14 כן משחת איש מאיש מראהו, “so his appearance is like that of a man who has suffered afflictions.” An even more outspoken verse describing the connection between afflictions and השחתה is Job 33,24 ויחננו ויאמר פדעהו מרדת שחת מצאתי, “then He has mercy on him and decrees: “redeem him from descending to the pit.”
The attribute known as ארך אפים applies to both the righteous as well as to the habitual sinners. Moses said to G’d concerning the application of this attribute: ”You have to forgive the people on account of Your having told me that this is one of Your attributes, i.e. to hold back with venting Your anger.” “You explained to me that the reason for calling it ארך אפים instead of ארך אף means that even the sinners qualify for the application to them of this attribute.” Moreover, Moses added, assuming that the people concerned have already used up this attribute, ‘You are also רב חסד, abundant in kindness, a fallback position for people who have exhausted their claim against You on the basis of Your being ארך אפים.’ Moses reminded G’d that as long as the Torah had not been given, during the first 26 generations of man’s existence on earth, You fed them due to Your attribute of רב חסד. If You were to say that the very absence of the Torah was a factor in Your applying the attribute of רב חסד, because they did not violate any of its commandments, Moses said that due to G’d’s attribute of חסד i.e. an attribute of undeserved kindness known as “true kindness,” He would still have to extend forgiveness to the sinners. If even that nuance of the attribute of Mercy would not suffice to obtain forgiveness for a sin (such as that of the golden calf) then the next fallback position would be the nuance called נוצר חסד לאלפים, “preserver of kindness for thousands of generations,” i.e. what is popularly known as zechut avot, the accumulated and unexpired portion of the merits of the patriarchs. In the event that G’d were to reply that even this aspect of the attribute of Mercy had already been exhausted by the people (compare Shabbat 55), Moses would appeal to the nuance described here as נושא עון, G’d’s attribute of being “a forgiver of iniquity,” a reference to sins committed knowingly. The word פשע which follows the attribute of נושא עון, refers to sins committed with the express intent of asserting man’s independence vis-a-vis legislation perceived as decreed by G’d. The word וחטאה is applicable to sins committed erroneously, unwittingly. Finally, the word ונקה, refers to sins one did not even find out one had committed, sins for which one cannot ask forgiveness as they cannot be spelled out, be confessed. This is what David had in mind when he appealed to G’d (Psalms 19,13) מנסתרות נקני “cleanse me from the guilt I bear for hidden sins, sins unbeknown to me.”
Actually, logic dictates that the sequence of the last few categories of sins which are subject to G’d’s attribute of Mercy should have been חטאה, עון, פשעi.e. if G’d invokes forgiveness for sins committed as an act of rebellion the Torah surely did not have to tell us that He forgives sins committed unintentionally! Our sages in addressing this problem (Yuma 36) explained the existing sequence by saying that Moses prayed that the intentional sins be raised to the level of unintentional sins which are easier to forgive. This is the reason why the word וחטאה appears at the end of that sequence. Another reason for the inverted sequence is the fact hat the sin of the golden calf began as something relatively harmless, i.e. unintentional, as I have explained on 32,4. Moses did not want to mention the need to forgive unintentional sins first, as he then would have drawn attention to the sin of the golden calf specifically.
The attribute אל is the one dealing with forgiveness in response to the sinner’s request. This is what is meant in Psalms 99,8 אל נושא היית להם, “You have been a forgiving G’d for them.”
The attributes רחום וחנון are two attributes applied in response to requests for forgiveness when such forgiveness is granted in connection with the sinner experiencing afflictions and having repented properly. We find that these terms always appear in connection with afflictions such as in Deut. 4,31 כי אל רחום ה’ אלו-היך לא ירפך ולא ישחיתך, “for Hashem, your G’d is a merciful G’d He will not abandon you nor destroy you.” The expression השחתה is found in connection with afflictions such as in Isaiah 52,14 כן משחת איש מאיש מראהו, “so his appearance is like that of a man who has suffered afflictions.” An even more outspoken verse describing the connection between afflictions and השחתה is Job 33,24 ויחננו ויאמר פדעהו מרדת שחת מצאתי, “then He has mercy on him and decrees: “redeem him from descending to the pit.”
The attribute known as ארך אפים applies to both the righteous as well as to the habitual sinners. Moses said to G’d concerning the application of this attribute: ”You have to forgive the people on account of Your having told me that this is one of Your attributes, i.e. to hold back with venting Your anger.” “You explained to me that the reason for calling it ארך אפים instead of ארך אף means that even the sinners qualify for the application to them of this attribute.” Moreover, Moses added, assuming that the people concerned have already used up this attribute, ‘You are also רב חסד, abundant in kindness, a fallback position for people who have exhausted their claim against You on the basis of Your being ארך אפים.’ Moses reminded G’d that as long as the Torah had not been given, during the first 26 generations of man’s existence on earth, You fed them due to Your attribute of רב חסד. If You were to say that the very absence of the Torah was a factor in Your applying the attribute of רב חסד, because they did not violate any of its commandments, Moses said that due to G’d’s attribute of חסד i.e. an attribute of undeserved kindness known as “true kindness,” He would still have to extend forgiveness to the sinners. If even that nuance of the attribute of Mercy would not suffice to obtain forgiveness for a sin (such as that of the golden calf) then the next fallback position would be the nuance called נוצר חסד לאלפים, “preserver of kindness for thousands of generations,” i.e. what is popularly known as zechut avot, the accumulated and unexpired portion of the merits of the patriarchs. In the event that G’d were to reply that even this aspect of the attribute of Mercy had already been exhausted by the people (compare Shabbat 55), Moses would appeal to the nuance described here as נושא עון, G’d’s attribute of being “a forgiver of iniquity,” a reference to sins committed knowingly. The word פשע which follows the attribute of נושא עון, refers to sins committed with the express intent of asserting man’s independence vis-a-vis legislation perceived as decreed by G’d. The word וחטאה is applicable to sins committed erroneously, unwittingly. Finally, the word ונקה, refers to sins one did not even find out one had committed, sins for which one cannot ask forgiveness as they cannot be spelled out, be confessed. This is what David had in mind when he appealed to G’d (Psalms 19,13) מנסתרות נקני “cleanse me from the guilt I bear for hidden sins, sins unbeknown to me.”
Actually, logic dictates that the sequence of the last few categories of sins which are subject to G’d’s attribute of Mercy should have been חטאה, עון, פשעi.e. if G’d invokes forgiveness for sins committed as an act of rebellion the Torah surely did not have to tell us that He forgives sins committed unintentionally! Our sages in addressing this problem (Yuma 36) explained the existing sequence by saying that Moses prayed that the intentional sins be raised to the level of unintentional sins which are easier to forgive. This is the reason why the word וחטאה appears at the end of that sequence. Another reason for the inverted sequence is the fact hat the sin of the golden calf began as something relatively harmless, i.e. unintentional, as I have explained on 32,4. Moses did not want to mention the need to forgive unintentional sins first, as he then would have drawn attention to the sin of the golden calf specifically.
Rashi
ונושנתם AND YE SHALL HAVE BEEN LONG [IN THE LAND] — He gave them a vague intimation that they would be exiled from it at the end of 852 years, according to the numerical value of the word ונושנתם, but He sent them into exile earlier, at the end of 850 years. He did this two years earlier than the numerical value of ונושנתם, in order that the prophecy should not be fulfilled in them “that ye shall utterly perish” (v. 26). This is the meaning of what is said, (Daniel 9:14) “And the Lord hastened in regard to the evil, and He brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is צדיק” — i.e., He acted charitably (צדקה) with us, in that He brought it (the evil) two years before its assigned time (Sanhedrin 38a; Gittin 88a).