Apollo, Dionysus, and the Übermensch at Sinai

Dr. Rinat Harash is a journalist and scholar who explores the intersection of philosophy, religion, and contemporary Jewish experience. Her journalism focuses on the ways international media portrays Israel and the Jewish people, while her current academic work extends Nietzsche’s thought as a framework for understanding the roots and mechanisms of antisemitism.

“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 TablesAcknowledgementsPrefacePart 1: The Birth of the Tragic at SinaiChapter 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 Greeks2.1. The Satyr Chorus2.2. The Tragic Phase3. The Relation to Being3.1. Art and Nature3.2. What Is the Dionysian?3.3. Artist-God4. Diagram and Table—Characteristics of the Apollonian and the Dionysian in The Birth of TragedyChapter 2: The Characteristics of the Apollonian and the Dionysian at SinaiThe Outline of the Biblical StoryApollonian Characteristics in the Sinai RevelationDionysian Characteristics in the Golden Calf IncidentThe Creation of the Tabernacle as an Artistic ActTable—Application of the Apollonian and the Dionysian Characteristics to the Sinai Revelation and the Golden Calf IncidentPart 2: The Übermensch at SinaiChapter 3: The Characteristics of the Nietzschean ÜbermenschPremises—the “Hollow” Core of Being and the Will to PowerOvercomingThe Basis of Overcoming—the Animalistic FoundationThe Process of Overcoming—the Formal FrameworkCharacteristics of the Lion—Solitude and the Destruction of the HumanCharacteristics of the Child—Creation and Self-LawThe Child as Self-CreationThe Child as a CreatorOvercoming 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 ÜbermenschDiagram and Table—Characteristics of the Nietzschean ÜbermenschChapter 4: Moses at Sinai as an ÜbermenschMoses—the Outline of the Transformation from the Camel to the ChildThe Application of Übermensch Characteristics to the Figure of Moses at SinaiMoses as the Camel—the Preparation for the RevelationMoses as the Camel with an Instinct for Freedom—from the Revelation to the Golden Calf IncidentTowards the Transformation into the Lion—the Golden Calf Incident and Moses’s Response to GodMoses as the Lion—Destruction of Values in Response to the Golden Calf IncidentBetween the Lion and the Child—Two Intermediate StagesIntermediate Stage 1—Uncertainty and the Establishment of the Tent of MeetingIntermediate Stage 2—Preparation for the Revelation in the Cleft of the RockMoses as the Child—from the Revelation in the Cleft of the Rock to the Creation of the TabernacleLove of Fate—the Revelation in the Cleft of the RockEvidence of Metamorphosis—the Radiant Descent from the MountainMoses as an Artist of the Grand Style—the Construction of the TabernacleMoses the Übermensch as a Research ModelTable: Application of the Characteristics of the Übermensch to Moses at SinaiConclusions Bibliography