The Poetic Structure of the First Blessing of the Shema liturgy and Byzantine Coronation Ceremonies and Byzantine oronation ceremonies. as the Key to its Angelology

• In Event: Cultural Comparison with Roman and Sasanian Contexts

Abstract

The first blessing of the Shema liturgy is an angelic coronation ceremony based on the human coronation ceremony of the Shema as the acceptance of the kingship of God. It thus follows standard coronation norms of the Byzantine period. This study will show how the blessing incorporates those norms and how Byzantine coronation norms unlock many of the exegetical conundrums of the blessing. In addition to the historical background, the study will demonstrate how philological analysis of the terminology and poetic analysis of the sound patterns converge to sound out the angelic coronation ceremony. This analysis will uncover the poetic structure of the whole blessing showing how the parts emerge into a single whole.
The upshot is that the classical liturgy does not exist in a cultural vacuum. It has to be understood in its cultural context. This study coincides with recent studies of Piyyut that seek to understand it in the light of poetic developments in Byzantine culture of Late Antiquity. Although this is becoming the norm in paytanic studies, it has yet to make inroads in classical liturgical studies. This study shows the gains in doing so.
Reuven Kimelman
Professor of Classical Judaica
Brandeis University

Author

• Reuven Kimelman, Brandeis University - Department of Near Eastern & Judaic Studies