The number thirteen instantly takes me to different parts of our calendar cycle. It obviously takes me (and probably every other Jewish adult man) to the week of my bar mitzvah, which takes place each year in June.
It also immediately transports me to the Pesach Seder. Some of my family’s most joyous memories come from those last few minutes of the Seder, when there are just one or two pages left to turn. We’re about to finish the penultimate song, and we get to its very last stanza – Who knows thirteen? I know thirteen! Yes, we sing both versions of the song, in both Hebrew and English, and we have a blast doing it.
And that takes me to the other calendar event – the time from when we begin saying Selichos all the way through Yom Kippur. We mention in the Seder the thirteen middos that Hashem models for us, and we repeat these over and over throughout the Elul and Tishrei season. Though we say them at various times throughout the year, they serve as a centerpiece of our davening during these particular times.
Moshe was given this formula for us to recite when we need forgiveness. When it seemed like our sins were too great, Hashem instructed him to share these words with us. They give us the confidence to know that Hashem hears our tefillos and awaits our teshuvah.
On what day of the year do we say them the most? Yom Kippur, of course. And how many times do we say them?
You guessed it. Thirteen!