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The Humility of God in Rabbinic Judaism

Date:
-
Location:
William T. Young Library Auditorium
Speaker(s) / Presenter(s):
Yoni Pomeranz

Yoni PomeranzJoin us in celebrating this year’s Luckens Prize Winner, Yoni Pomeranz, and hearing a presentation on his winning essay, The Humility of God in Rabbinic Judaism. One of Rabbinic Judaism's main theological innovations is the idea that God acts with humility. Biblical theology makes use of metaphors grounded in social relations: God is the father and Israel is the son; God is the king and Israel is the subject. In the Bible, God always has the superior position. Rabbinic theology sometimes reverses these dynamics to have God choose to take the inferior position in an act of humility. The talk will examine one of these cases, in which God shows deference to Moses, and explore how the rabbis, through their concept of a humble deity, relate to the text of the Bible and Roman and Christian concepts of honor and regret. You will not want to miss this opportunity.

 

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