And [God] said: “I am the God of your father’s [house]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. The LORD continued, “I have marked well the plight of My people in Egypt and have heeded their outcry because of their taskmasters; yes, I am mindful of their sufferings. I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the region of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

And Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “You shall follow [lit., "walk"] after the Lord your God, [and you shall fear God, and keep God's commandments, and listen to God's voice, and serve God, and hold fast to God]” (Deut. 13:5)? But is it possible for a person to follow the Divine Presence? But hasn’t it already been stated: “For the Lord your God is a devouring fire” (Deut. 4:24)? Rather, one should follow the attributes of the Holy One of Blessing. Just as God clothes the naked, as it is written: “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21), so too, should you clothe the naked. Just as the Holy One of Blessing visits the sick, as it is written “And the Lord appeared to [Abraham after his circumcision] by the terebinths of Mamre” (Gen. 18:1), so too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy One of Blessing consoles mourners, as it is written: “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son” (Gen. 25:11), so too, should you console mourners. Just as the Holy One of Blessing buried the dead, as it is written: “And [Moses] was buried in the valley” (Deut. 34:6), so too, should you bury the dead.

Ravin bar Rav Adda said that Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From where is it derived that the Holy One of Blessing is found in a beit knesset? As it is stated: “God stands in the congregation of God; [in the midst of the judges God judges]” (Ps. 82:1). And from where is it derived that ten people who pray, the Divine Presence is with them? As it is stated: “God stands in the congregation of God,” [and “congregation” = minyan]. From where is it derived that three who sit in judgment, the Divine Presence is with them? As it is stated: “In the midst of the judges God judges,” [and a minimum court is three judges]. From where is it derived that two who sit and engage in Torah, the Divine Presence is with them? As it is stated: “Then they that feared the Lord spoke one with the other, and the Lord listened” (Mal. 3:16).... And from where is it derived that when even one sits and engages in Torah, the Divine Presence is with them? As it is stated: “In every place where I cause My Name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you” (Ex. 20:21).

The LORD came down in a cloud—and stood with [Moses] there, proclaiming the name the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed: The LORD, the LORD, a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin—yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.”

The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from the truth of God's being.... This is implied by the prophet's statement [Jer. 10:10]: "And God, your Lord, is true" - i.e., God alone is true and no other entity possesses truth that compares to God truth. This is what [is meant by] the Torah's statement [Deut. 4:35]: "There is nothing else aside from God" - i.e., aside from God, there is no true existence like God's.

This entity is the God of the world and the Lord of the entire earth. God controls the sphere with infinite and unbounded power. This power [continues] without interruption, because the sphere is constantly revolving, and it is impossible for it to revolve without someone causing it to revolve. [That one is] the God of blessing, who causes it to revolve without a hand or any corporeal dimension. The knowledge of this concept is a positive commandment, as [Ex. 20:2]: "I am God, your Lord...." Anyone who presumes that there is another god transgresses a negative commandment, as [Ex. 20:3] states: "You shall have no other gods before Me" and denies a fundamental principle [of faith], because this is the great principle [of faith] upon which all depends.....

Behold, it is explicitly stated in the Torah and prophets that the Holy One of Blessing is not a body or physical form, as [Deut. 4:39, Josh. 2:11] states: "Because God, your Lord, is the Lord in the heavens above and the earth below," and a body cannot exist in two places [simultaneously].... If so, what is the meaning of the expressions employed by the Torah: "Below God's feet" [Ex. 24:10], "Written by the finger of God" [ibid. 31:18], "God's hand" [ibid. 9:3], "God's eyes" [Gen. 38:7], "God's ears" [Num. 11:1], and the like? All these relate to human thought processes which know only corporeal imagery, for the Torah speaks in the language of man. They are only descriptive terms, as [apparent from Deuteronomy 32:41]: "I will whet My lightning sword." Does He have a sword? Does He need a sword to kill? Rather, this is metaphoric imagery. [Similarly,] all [such expressions] are metaphoric imagery....

[If so,] what did Moses, our teacher, want to comprehend when he requested: "Please show me Your glory" [Ex. 33:18]? He asked to know the truth of the existence of the Holy One of Blessing, to the extent that it could be internalized within his mind, as one knows a particular person whose face he saw and whose image has been engraved within one's heart, so that this person is distinguished within one's mind from other people....