Abstract
[...]for Baruch, the age of prophecy has closed, foreclosing the possibility of further prophetic utterance, but Baruch as the learned sage can act as authoritative interpreter and confessor of Torah for both Diaspora- and Jerusalem-based Jewish communities. [...]his effectiveness in this role can end the exile. “The Hodayot … shed light on the dynamics involved in the formation of scripture and its entwinement with teaching, interpretation, and worship practices in the service of shaping self and the community” (107). The ritualization of this collection of prayers, especially in light of the Maskil's role as one who performs prayer and prostrates to God on behalf of the community, “provides a context for understanding the ongoing interpretive shaping of scripture” (108), serving as a model that holds even in less extreme communities than the Yaḥad of Qumran.