Responsive Religious Service

A responsive form of worship — one party declaring, the assembly answering — is set out at length in Deuteronomy 27, where the Levites pronounce a series of curses and the whole people seal each one with "Amen."

Levites Declaring, People Answering

At the renewal of the covenant, the Levites take the speaking role and the assembly takes the responsive role: "And the Levites will answer, and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice" (De 27:14). What follows is twelve declarations, each followed by the people's reply.

The cycle opens with image-making: "Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten image, a disgusting thing to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret. And all the people will answer and say, Amen" (De 27:15). It moves through dishonoring of parents, removing landmarks, misleading the blind, and perverting justice for the sojourner, fatherless, and widow: "Cursed be he who dishonors his father or his mother. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:16). "Cursed be he who removes his fellow man's landmark. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:17). "Cursed be he who makes the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:18). "Cursed be he who wrests the justice [due] to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:19).

Sexual offenses make up the next group: "Cursed be he who plows his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's skirt. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:20). "Cursed be he who lies with any manner of beast. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:21). "Cursed be he who plows his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:22). "Cursed be he who plows his mother-in-law. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:23).

Hidden violence and bribery follow: "Cursed be he who strikes his fellow man in secret. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:24). "Cursed be he who takes a bribe to strike the soul of innocent blood. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:25).

The sequence closes by sweeping the whole law into the same responsive form: "Cursed be he who does not confirm the words of this law to do them. And all the people will say, Amen" (De 27:26).

The structure of the rite is the structure of the umbrella — declaration by one voice, sealing by the whole assembly.