"The righteous will flourish like the date palm..." (Tehillim 92:13)
Tomer Devorah [Palm Tree of Devorah] - an ethical treatise devoted to a Kabbalistic understanding of the commandment to imitate G-d based on the Torah verse "...you shall go in His ways" (Devarim 28:9) and "to go in all His ways" (11:22).
The Sifri ("Eikev") explains: just as the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is called 'Compassionate,' you should be compassionate; just as the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is called 'Gracious,' you should be gracious; just as the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is called 'Righteous,' you should be righteous; just as the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is called 'Pious,' you should be pious."
Expounding the verse "Follow HaShem, your G-d..." (Devarim 13:5), the Gemara derives the practical implications of this concept: "Emulate the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed Be He. Just as the Holy One, Blessed Be He, clothes the naked...so should you; just as the Holy One, Blessed Be He, visits the sick..so should you; just as the Holy One, Blessed Be He, consoles the bereaved, so should you..." (Sotah 14a)
In Tomer Devorah, the Thirteen Supernal Attributes of Mercy mentioned in Michah 7:18-20 are analyzed in detail.
The following are the words of the holy Sanzer Rebbi, the Divrei Chaim זצ"ל, as heard by his grandson, Rav Moshe Halberstam זצ"ל from the Satmar Rebbi זצ"ל:
“…the learning from the Sefer Tomer Devorah is a segulah against the terrible sickness…”
It is recommended to learn from the sefer Tomer Devorah once a week or at least once a month, even though this sefer is not easy to understand. This segulah follows the principle of middah keneged middah (measure for measure). If we emulate G-d’s Attributes and act like He does with patience, compassion, forgiveness, etc, HaShem will act towards us in the manner of middah keneged middah and be patient, compassionate and forgiving with us.
To be privileged to channel G-d's blessing and benefit into the world, man must emulate his Creator. It is insufficient that man is created in the Divine likeness - he must constantly, consciously, and willingly cleave to G-d by emulating Him in every way.
"Who is G-d like You, Who pardons iniquity and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not maintain His anger forever, for He delights in kindness. He will again show us compassion, He will vanquish our iniquities, and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Show faithfulness to Yaakov, kindness to Avraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old" (Michah 7:18-20)
Consequently, it is proper that these Thirteen Attributes should also be found in man.
Hitbodedut: "HaShem, I realize that I have no separate existence from you and therefore I yearn to be more like You. Please help me to rise above my nature and lead me in the path that I wish to go, which is to think, say and do only what is pleasing to You. May I merit to bring love and mercy to my interactions."
He Will Vanquish our Iniquities
The relationship of the Holy One, Blessed is He, to Yisrael is according to this Attribute, namely, the secret of vanquishing iniquity. For the precepts are compared to a grapevine that's "budding, its blossoms bursting forth" (Bereishit 40:10) - it shoots upwards without limit, entering His blessed Presence. However, sins have no entrance there, G-d forbid. Rather, He suppresses them, denying them entry, as it is written, "...no harm will befall you (Tehillim 5:5), which our Sages interpret as implying that "no harm will befall man in Your dwelling place." Thus, sin has no entry into the Inner Sanctum.
Since the precepts reside in His blessed Presence, they have no reward in this world. For how could G-d grant spiritual reward in the material world? Behold, the entire world is unworthy of a single precept and the spiritual bliss of His Presence.
For the same reason, G-d does not take the precepts as bribes. For instance, the Holy One, Blessed is He, does not say, G-d forbid, "He has fulfilled forty commandments and committed ten transgressions; thus, thirty commandments remain, for ten are deducted in repayment for the ten transgressions!" Rather, if even a perfectly righteous individual commits a sing sin, it as if he has burnt the Torah. But when he pays his debt, he receives reward for all the precepts he has fulfilled. This is a great kindness that the Holy One, Blessed is He, does for the righteous - He does not deduct from the precepts they fulfill, for these are very precious to Him and ascend directly to His blessed Presence. Indeed, how could transgressions, whose punishment is a portion of that which is most despicable - Gehinnom- detract from precepts, whose reward is the radiance of the Shechinah, which is so highly valued? How could one be exchanged for the other? Instead, the Holy One, Blessed is He, collects the debt due for transgressions, and then He bestows the reward for all the precepts a person has fulfilled.
This is the Attribute of "vanquishing iniquity" - that is, transgressions do not prevail before G-d as the commandments do. Rather, He suppresses transgressions, preventing them from ascending and entering His Presence. And although He watches all the ways of man, both bad and good, He does not suppress the good. Rather, it rises up, ascending to the very heights where all precepts merge to build an edifice and form a precious garment. Transgressions, however, lack this special quality - instead, He vanquishes them, so they'll have no success and no entry into the Inner Sanctum.
A person should also conduct himself according to this Attribute. He should not suppress his fellow's virtues but remember the evil he has done. On the contrary, he should vanquish the evil, erasing it from memory and abandoning it, so that he will find no evil in his fellow, and his good qualities will be spread out before him. And he should turn a blind eye to his faults as much as possible, just as the Holy One, Blessed is He, does in vanquishing our iniquities.
Hitbodedut: "HaShem please help me to be more like You, to see the good and to erase the past."
