"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."
And You Will Cast all Their Sins into the Depths of the Sea
This Attribute is the goodness of the Holy One, Blessed is He. For when Yisrael sinned, He delivered them into the hands of Pharoah. But when they repented, why should H have punished Pharoah, or Sancheriv, or Haman and others like them? Yet the Holy One, Blessed is He, is not content with saying to Yisrael, "Repent!" and then no further evil will befall them, for Haman, Pharoah, or Sancheriv will be removed from them. This is not enough; instead, the iniquity of Haman reverts onto his own head, and so, too, with Pharoah and Sancheriv.
The reason the Holy One, Blessed is He, conducts Himself in this manner is to be found in the secret contained int he verse "The goat will bear all the sins of Yisrael upon it to the land of Gezerah.." (VaYikra 16:22). The explanation is that the goat itself bears the punishment for their sins! Now this is very hard to understand, for if Yisrael sinned, why should the goat be responsible?
This is understood as follows:
When a person confesses with the intention of accepting upon himself the cleansing of his sin, as King David states, "Cleanse me thoroughly of my wrongdoing.." (Tehillim 51:4), and as we pray, "Erase my sin in your great compassion" - he hopes his punishment will be light in order that it not interfere with his Torah study. As we say in our prayers "...but not by way of severe suffering." This was also King David's intentions when he stated, "You are just with regard to all that befalls me," expressing a willingness to accept suffering upon himself for those sins that can be purged only by means of severe affliction or death. And so it is - when a person confesses his wrongdoing in *viddui, the Holy One, Blessed is He, immediately decrees severe suffering upon him for his sins. Then Samae-l appears to claim his due, for this is the portion allotted him, as the Zohar on "Pikudei" explains. But all the person's sins ultimately devolve upon his head. This way, Yisrael is purified. This is just like the goat that bore the sins of Yisrael to its death in Gezerah.
The reason for this is that the Holy One, Blessed is He, decreed upon His world that all who punish Yisrael will be annihilated. That's why any animal that is party to a transgression bust be killed. Similarly, the stones used to carry out the sentence of those condemned to death by stoning, and the sword used to carry out the sentence of those condemned to decapitation, must be buried in order to nullify their existence and power after they have carried out the judgment.
This is the attribute of "and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea," implying that the Holy One, Blessed is He, will send forth the attribute of judgment to cast down those who are called "the depths of the sea," as the verse states: "The wicked are like the troubled sea, for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mud and mire" (Yeshayahu 57:20). This refers to those who execute judgement on Yisrael: He will return their recompense upon their own heads, for after the people of Yisrael receive their judgment, the Holy One, Blessed is He, regrets His original demand that they be shamed. And this is not all, for "...I was only a little angry, and [the nations of the world] helped make it worse" (Zechariya 1:15).
A person also ought to behave this way with his fellow. Even if the latter is wicked and crushed through suffering, he should not despise him, for "having been whipped, he is like your brother." On the contrary, he should draw close the downcast and those who are punished, have compassion for them, and save them from their enemies.
Hitbodedut: "HaShem, please help me emulate Your ways by praying for mercy for others and may that mercy extend to all Klal Yisrael as well."
*viddui - The public confessions of one's sins on Yom Kippur.
