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The biblical account of the events at Sinai and the figure of Moses is a foundational narrative of both Jewish and Western civilization, yet it has traditionally been analyzed only within a religious framework.
In Apollo, Dionysus, and the Übermensch at Sinai: An Attempt at a Nietzschean Analysis, Dr. Rinat Harash offers a groundbreaking interpretation, applying Nietzsche’s concepts of the Apollonian, the Dionysian, and the Übermensch to the revelation at Mount Sinai, the Golden Calf episode, the construction of the Tabernacle, and the elevated figure of Moses.
Her study illuminates both the formative Jewish myth and Nietzsche’s philosophy, forging a novel synthesis that bridges religion and art, bringing together the two opposing forces at the heart of Western culture—Jerusalem versus Athens.
“This groundbreaking book demonstrates, for the first time, that core Nietzschean concepts can be applied to the formative moment of classical Jewish consciousness—the revelation at Sinai. It argues that Moses—moving along the Apollonian–Dionysian axis at Sinai—can be understood as an embodiment of the Übermensch. It further shows how the Tabernacle (and later, the Temple) can be interpreted in Apollonian and Dionysian terms, rooted in the events of Sinai and the episode of the Golden Calf—paralleling what Nietzsche identifies as the highest artistic stage: the tragic. Taken together, these insights shed new light both on Nietzsche’s understanding of God and religion, and on Judaism, viewed through a Nietzschean lens, as a foundational expression of art and existence. This book marks a bold new contribution, opening fresh avenues for interpretation and research.”
—Prof. (emeritus) Avi Sagi, Department of Philosophy, Bar Ilan University, Israel` Faculty member, Shalom Hartman Institute, Israel
List of Diagrams and Tables
Acknowledgements
Preface
Part 1: The Birth of the Tragic at Sinai
Chapter 1: The Characteristics of the Apollonian and the Dionysian in The Birth of Tragedy
“Art Impulses of Nature”
The Apollonian and the Dionysian among the Greeks
2.1. The Satyr Chorus
2.2. The Tragic Phase
3. The Relation to Being
3.1. Art and Nature
3.2. What Is the Dionysian?
3.3. Artist-God
4. Diagram and Table—Characteristics of the Apollonian and the Dionysian in The Birth of Tragedy
Chapter 2: The Characteristics of the Apollonian and the Dionysian at Sinai
The Outline of the Biblical Story
Apollonian Characteristics in the Sinai Revelation
Dionysian Characteristics in the Golden Calf Incident
The Creation of the Tabernacle as an Artistic Act
Table—Application of the Apollonian and the Dionysian Characteristics to the Sinai Revelation and the Golden Calf Incident
Part 2: The Übermensch at Sinai
Chapter 3: The Characteristics of the Nietzschean Übermensch
Premises—the “Hollow” Core of Being and the Will to Power
Overcoming
The Basis of Overcoming—the Animalistic Foundation
The Process of Overcoming—the Formal Framework
Characteristics of the Lion—Solitude and the Destruction of the Human
Characteristics of the Child—Creation and Self-Law
The Child as Self-Creation
The Child as a Creator
Overcoming the Abyss of Becoming—the Child as an Approach to Life
Return to the Will to Power—the Struggle and the “Chosen People”
Discussion—the Apollonian and the Dionysian in the Übermensch
Diagram and Table—Characteristics of the Nietzschean Übermensch
Chapter 4: Moses at Sinai as an Übermensch
Moses—the Outline of the Transformation from the Camel to the Child
The Application of Übermensch Characteristics to the Figure of Moses at Sinai
Moses as the Camel—the Preparation for the Revelation
Moses as the Camel with an Instinct for Freedom—from the Revelation to the Golden Calf Incident
Towards the Transformation into the Lion—the Golden Calf Incident and Moses’s Response to God
Moses as the Lion—Destruction of Values in Response to the Golden Calf Incident
Between the Lion and the Child—Two Intermediate Stages
Intermediate Stage 1—Uncertainty and the Establishment of the Tent of Meeting
Intermediate Stage 2—Preparation for the Revelation in the Cleft of the Rock
Moses as the Child—from the Revelation in the Cleft of the Rock to the Creation of the Tabernacle
Love of Fate—the Revelation in the Cleft of the Rock
Evidence of Metamorphosis—the Radiant Descent from the Mountain
Moses as an Artist of the Grand Style—the Construction of the Tabernacle
Moses the Übermensch as a Research Model
Table: Application of the Characteristics of the Übermensch to Moses at Sinai
Conclusions
Bibliography