Unrolling the Scroll, Revealing God: Esther Scrolls as Symbols and Ritual Objects
Like the Torah scroll, the Esther scroll in Jewish life serves as not only a technology of text, but a symbolically charged ritual object for the liturgical theater of Purim ritual. This paper argues that in late antique Purim liturgy, the symbolic act of unrolling the scroll for the megillah readin...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The National Association of Professors of Hebrew
2023
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| In: |
Hebrew studies
Year: 2023, Volume: 64, Issue: 1, Pages: 57-81 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Pentateuch, Bible. Pentateuch
/ Esther
/ Megillot
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| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion HB Old Testament HD Early Judaism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Like the Torah scroll, the Esther scroll in Jewish life serves as not only a technology of text, but a symbolically charged ritual object for the liturgical theater of Purim ritual. This paper argues that in late antique Purim liturgy, the symbolic act of unrolling the scroll for the megillah reading hints at God's presence in the Book of Esther itself. Three clusters of evidence support this thesis. First, rabbinic texts describing liturgy assign symbolic value to the act of unrolling and rolling up scrolls. Second, the rabbis' choice to call Esther a 'megillah' allows them to midrashically conflate the megillat Esther with heavenly books described in Ezekiel, Malachi, Zechariah, and Jeremiah, thus making Esther into a book of life or book of fate. Third, synagogue liturgy connects the megillah with pivotal moments of writing, reading, and unveiling in the Book of Esther itself. The act of unrolling and reading the Book of Esther at Purim thus ritualizes a deeper metaphor: unrolling the scroll is unveiling God's hidden presence. |
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| ISSN: | 2158-1681 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/hbr.2023.a912650 |