Our Torah reading for this week is Ki Tisa (כי תשא), one of the longest of the Torah. It includes the tragic account of the Sin of the Golden Calf (עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה) and Moses’ passionate intercession for Israel. After a period of teshuvah (repentance) for Israel’s idolatry, the LORD graciously revealed the meaning of the Name YHVH (יהוה), that is, the thirty-two words that have become known in Jewish tradition as the Shelosh Esrei Middot, or the “Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy.” This was the LORD’s own definition of His compassionate character and attributes to Moses after the breaking of the Sinai covenant.
