From the Absent God to the Absent Text

What is it about?

Artistic representation of human historical catastrophes connects intimately the aesthetical with ethical. How can one remember horrors? How can one aestheticize human calamities? S.Y. Agnon could not escape that ethico-aesthetic dilemma. This apparently is one of the main reasons he rarely directly addressed the Holocaust in his literature. In his attempts to reconcile ethic and poetics Agnon uses, consciously or not, philosophical and theological ideas. The following article offers a detailed examination of some of his poetical attempts at writing catastroph.

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Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This work offers a unique reading of S.Y. Agnon’s writing through the dual absence of God and the absence of an authoritative text, framing them as interconnected responses to catastrophe. By weaving together literary analysis, theology, and philosophy—from Aristotle and Maimonides to Nietzsche and Levinas—it places Agnon in dialogue with global intellectual traditions, not just within Hebrew literature. The study’s timeliness lies in its resonance with our own age of uncertainty, where foundational narratives—religious, political, cultural—are increasingly questioned. It speaks to readers grappling with how to preserve meaning and memory when traditional anchors are gone. By highlighting Agnon’s use of loss, circular time, and fragmented texts as acts of resistance and remembrance, the work opens new avenues for understanding literature’s role after collective trauma.