EXOD1010 … in this pivotal biblical text [i.e., Exodus 34:6-7 - AJL], the God of Israel, in response to Moses' pleas, "Show me now Thy ways" and "Show me… Thy glory," [this verse and Exodus 33:18] is described as possessing certain qualities which are moral in nature. God is revealed as a moral God but not merely because He demands moral living from His creatures. Rather, it seems to be the other way around. God demands of His creatures, first and foremost, obedience to moral rules because morality is of the very essence of His own being. ... It is but a short step… to the concept of imitatio dei, which is first fully articulated by the Rabbis. Judaism asks of man to walk in God's ways, to act as He does, in short to imitate Him. The strong implication of the thirteen middot of God's close identification with morality leaves little doubt concerning the high-priority of morality in Judaism.