Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
י״ג מדות הרחמים
The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (yud-gimmel middos harachamim)
The boundless great mercy measured out through thirteen tikkunim of Arich Anpin’s beard, carrying light from Atik; above Havayah and Torah, they pardon sin and shine in Elul and on Yom Kippur.
Where it’s explained
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 1, ¶4The great mercy is without limit, so it can clothe itself in the worlds only through contractions, by way of thirteen measures that give it a measure the worlds can receive: the oil descending on the beard, the thirteen tikkunei dikna. Hence Selichos and the Thirteen Attributes are said from Rosh Chodesh Elul.
שלפי שהם רחמים רבים בלי גבול א״א להתלבש תוך העולמות אם לא ע״י צמצומים דרך י״ג מדות
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 7, ¶22Torah and mitzvos are in Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus, rooted in Arich Anpin, while the Thirteen Attributes are the thirteen “measures” of Arich itself, with light from Atik clothed in them. So although they are only “hairs,” they make good the defects made in Torah and mitzvos (“bearing iniquity”).
והי״ג מדות הרחמים הם י״ג מכילין דא״א עצמן והאור הנמשך ומתלבש בהן הוא מעתיק ממש
- Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 3, ¶3There is mercy drawn from the Name Havayah (“Havayah is merciful and gracious”) and a great mercy above it (“gracious and merciful is Havayah”), the Thirteen Attributes, source of Atzilus. Moshe’s plea drew from them into Havayah; they are an arousal from above, beyond the arousal from below, revealed in Tishrei.
שמשה המשיך מבחי׳ י״ג מדות הרחמים מקור האצילות אל בחי׳ הוי׳
- Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 6, ¶2The “great circumcision” from above, sealed with thirteen covenants, is revealed through the Thirteen Attributes, which are above Chochmah and intellect, above the Name Havayah and above the Torah; that is why there is pardon of sin there.
הוא ע״י י״ג מדה״ר שהן למעלה מהחכמה והשכל ולכך היא למעלה מבחי׳ שם הוי״ה ולמעלה מבחי׳ תורה
- Likkutei Torah, Reeh 6, ¶21Through the arousal from below the Thirteen Attributes, the boundless higher “very much” (me’od), are drawn down. In Elul they are like the king met in the field, in his outer garments; in the Ten Days of Teshuvah, especially Yom Kippur, like being received by the king in his palace, in his inner garments.
התגלות י״ג מדות בעשי״ת ובפרט ביוהכ״פ זהו עד״מ הזוכה לקבל פני המלך בהיכל מלכותו
Stated differently
Whether the thirteen attributes Moshe said (“Havayah, Havayah, Kel rachum”) are, like Micha’s (“Mi Kel kamocha”), a source of teshuvah and pardon, or a lower level than Micha’s, mercy for bodily life only
כנגד י״ג מכילין דרחמי שבפסוק מי אל כמוך ושבפסוק אל רחום כו׳ שמשם הוא מקור התשובהThe thirteen petals of the rose correspond to the thirteen measures of mercy in the verse “Mi Kel kamocha” and in the verse “Kel rachum,” named together as the source of teshuvah and of “bearing iniquity,” revealed from Rosh Chodesh Elul.
ולהמשיך סליחה ומחילה הוא דוקא על ידי שהמשיך משה רבינו ע״ה י״ג מדות הרחמים דא״א“Havayah passed before him and proclaimed: Havayah, Havayah” came after the sin of the Golden Calf: pardon and forgiveness could be drawn only through Moshe drawing down the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy of Arich Anpin, since by judgment they were not worthy.
והן י״ג מדות שאמר מיכה שהן בעתיק והן למעלה מהי״ג שאמר משהMicha’s thirteen are in Atik and above the thirteen Moshe said, which Moshe drew down into Z’eir Anpin: Moshe’s are for the life of this world, needed after “leave Me alone,” while Micha’s, the thirteen of Arich Anpin, are for the life of souls.
ואף שבכל השנה אומרים י״ג מדות הרחמים ה׳ ה׳ אל רחום כו׳ הם רק הרחמנות על חיי הגוף בלבדThe Thirteen Attributes said all year, “Havayah, Havayah, Kel rachum,” are only mercy for the life of the body, while the thirteen measures of mercy of “Mi Kel kamocha” that shine in Elul are mercy for the life of the soul, arousing it to teshuvah.
Discussed by
The Mitteler Rebbe · Maamarei Admur HaEmtzaee, Neviim u’Kesuvim, p. תרא
The Mitteler Rebbe asks how Moshe’s attributes, which end ‘yet He will not fully clear, visiting iniquity’, can fall short of Micha’s full pardon when they too say ‘bearing iniquity’, and begins to answer from the need to refine the Tree of Knowledge through bodily suffering.
ואיך אפשר שי״ג מדה״ר שהמשיך משה אינם כמו י״ג מדה הרחמי׳ דמיכה, ועוד שגם בי״ג מדות הרחמים דמשה אמר נושא עון ועובר על פשע
The Tzemach Tzedek · Or HaTorah, Devarim vol. 5 (derushim for Rosh HaShanah), p. ב׳ק
The Tzemach Tzedek cites the Idra and explains the difference: Micha’s, from Atik, give souls the boundless delight of Gan Eden, while Moshe’s, drawn down through the vessels of Z”A into Asiyah, serve bodily life, as in atoning for the Golden Calf.
באד״ר די״ג מדה״ר דמיכה הן לחיי הנשמות וי״ג מדות דמשה הן לחיי הגוף
Whether “Havayah rachum v’chanun” is a lower mercy drawn from the Name Havayah, below the Thirteen Attributes, or the Havayah of Arich Anpin drawing the thirteen tikkunim into Z’eir Anpin
יש בחי׳ מדת רחמים הנמשכת משם הוי׳ וא״ז נאמר הוי׳ רחום וחנון כו׳ אך יש בחי׳ רחמים שלמעלה משם הוי׳“Havayah is merciful and gracious” is a mercy drawn from the Name Havayah; above the Name is a great mercy, “gracious and merciful is Havayah,” the Thirteen Attributes, source of Atzilus, which Moshe drew into Havayah.
ה׳ רחום וחנון הוא בא״א המשכת הוי׳ דא״א ב׳ פאות כו׳. להמשיך י״ג ת״ד בז״א“Havayah is merciful and gracious” is in Arich Anpin, the Havayah of Arich (its two pe’os), to draw the thirteen tikkunim of the beard into Z’eir Anpin; “gracious and merciful is Havayah” draws those thirteen into Z’eir Anpin so that it is in the Name Havayah.
Further in Chassidus
The Tzemach Tzedek · Or HaTorah, Devarim vol. 2, p. תתז
On the Zohar’s thirteen-petalled rose, the Tzemach Tzedek places Moshe’s thirteen attributes in Arich Anpin flowing into Z”A and Malchus (those of Elul), and Micha’s as the inner springs within the thirteen tikkunim of Arich’s beard, revealed on Yom Kippur.ואע״פ שאנו מכנין הי״ג מדות שאמר משה לז״א, מ״מ הם מא״א המשפיעים בז״א, אך אותן הי״ג מדות שאמר מיכה מי אל כמוך כו׳ הם פנימי׳
The Rebbe · Sefer HaMaamarim (bilti muga) 5734-5735 (maamar of Rosh Chodesh Elul 5735), p. 470
Explaining LT ‘Ani ledodi’, the Rebbe asks why Elul, when the lofty Thirteen Attributes shine, is not a festival, and answers that in Elul they only give strength for man’s own arousal, unlike their revelation on Yom Kippur.וזהו הטעם מה שימי אלול אינם יום טוב, כי הארת י״ג מדות הרחמים שבחודש אלול הוא רק נתינת כח לעבודה
Short quotes, © their publishers; each page opened by a second AI reader.
Main sources
Likkutei Torah, Eikev 1, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 7, ¶22Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 3, ¶3Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 6, ¶2Likkutei Torah, Reeh 6, ¶21Likkutei Torah, Reeh 11, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Reeh 12, ¶8Likkutei Torah, Nasso 4, ¶16
Where it appears
In 109 paragraphs of 67 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 2 ¶17
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 18 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 1 ¶10 ¶11 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 2 ¶21
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 4 ¶21 ¶27 ¶37 ¶38
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 11 ¶1 ¶2 ¶10 ¶11 ¶12 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Tazria 6 ¶32
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 4 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 2 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 6 ¶19 ¶31
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 3 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 2 ¶15 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Korach 1 ¶16 ¶48
- Likkutei Torah, Masei 5 ¶10 ¶12 ¶18 ¶21
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 5 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 8 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 12 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 1 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 4 ¶44
- Torah Ohr, Tetzaveh 4 ¶5 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Yom Kippur 3 ¶24 ¶26 ¶28
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 9 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 6 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 2 ¶15 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 6 ¶1 ¶11 ¶12 ¶13 ¶21
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 10 ¶1 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Tazria 4 ¶7 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 3 ¶3
- Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 6 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Tetzaveh 3 ¶21 ¶29
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 4 ¶3 ¶4 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 2 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 7 ¶6 ¶19 ¶21 ¶22 ¶25
- Torah Ohr, Shemos 1 ¶29
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 3 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 7 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 4 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 4 ¶6 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 2 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 4 ¶6 ¶7 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 37 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1 ¶24
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 4 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 5 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Devarim 2 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Nasso 4 ¶9 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 2 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 14 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 1 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 2 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3 ¶29 ¶30
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 14 ¶18
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 5 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 27 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 6 ¶23 ¶26 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 3 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 12 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 5 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Parshas Zachor 2 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 6 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 7 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Yom Kippur 2 ¶22 ¶24
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Savo 4 ¶7 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 1 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 5 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 3 ¶40
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 3 ¶9
Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.