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Saturday, September 08, 2018

Does the Torah suppress God's kingship?

ROSH HASHANAH IS COMING: Rosh Hashanah: Why the Torah Suppresses God’s Kingship (Prof. Israel Knohl, TheTorah.com).
Several biblical passages imply that God was ritually enthroned as king during the new year celebrations. In the Torah itself, however, this is suppressed. God as king appears only in three ancient poetic passages, never in the Torah’s prose or laws, including in its description of Rosh Hashanah.
I would say "downplays" rather than "suppresses," since the concept does appear in some poetic passages. But I take his point. This essay presents some interesting, if speculative, ideas about the origins of Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish new year (which commences this year on the evening of Sunday, 9 September). [Original incorrect date corrected. Sorry about that!]

I have posted some similar, and similarly speculative, thoughts on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur here and here.

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