"Golden Age of Jewish culture" of the 10th to 12th century, he employed the patterns and themes of Arabic poetry. His themes embrace all those that were current among Hebrew poets: praise of friends and notable figures, reflections on fate, youth and ageing, expressions of friendship and love, wine and celebration, didactic verse, wedding compositions, poetic riddles, and poems centred on longing for the Land of Israel. His poetry is distinguished by special attention to acoustic effect and wit.
Ha-Levi had at least one daughter, reportedly a poet herself, who married Isaac Ibn Ezra, son of Abraham Ibn Ezra.
Journey to the Holy Land
Although he occupied an honored position as a physician, intellectual, and communal leader, Halevi was stirred to attempt a perilous journey to spend his final days in the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
. In his treatise known as the ''
Kuzari
The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' (; : ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also known as the Book of the Khazar (: ''Sefer ha-Kuzari''), is one of the most ...
'', he argues that the presence of the
God of Israel
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious faith, faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a Deity, god is "a spirit or being believed to have creat ...
is most palpable in the Land of Israel (
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...
at the time), and it is therefore ideal and most religiously fulfilling for Jews to live there. He ends the dialogue with the rabbi deciding to leave for Jerusalem, as Halevi himself would.
Halevi planned to make his own
aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
: a trip believed to allow spiritual ascension by going "up" to the land. His deep passion for Israel eventually overpowered his hesitation and concerns about leaving his friends, family and status to live under difficult Crusader rule. Additionally, the uncertainties of Jewish communal status and favor within the government during the period of the
Reconquista
The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
may have caused him to consider the future security of Jews in the
Diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
.
Halevi's journey is viewed as either a personal religious pilgrimage or as an urging to the diaspora to abandon their cultural synthesis of Graeco-Arabic-Iberian culture, the former being the Diasporist, the latter a Zionist interpretation.
On September 8, 1140, Halevi arrived in Alexandria, where he was greeted enthusiastically by friends and admirers. He then went to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, where he visited several dignitaries and friends. Returning to Alexandria in the spring, Halevi was reportedly denounced and sued by an
apostate
Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...
who claimed Halevi sought to force him to return to Judaism by withholding money belonging to him, though he was reportedly acquitted through his connections and through legal subterfuge.
Halevi's ship set sail from Egypt on May 14, 1141;
a letter from Abu Nasr ben Avraham to Halfon ben Netanel dated November 12, 1141 suggests Halevi died in July or August.
It is uncertain if he arrived safely in Jerusalem or if his departure was delayed and he died in Egypt,
but it can may be reasonably assumed that he was able to reach Palestine in this time.
Legend also has it that Halevi was trampled by an Arab horseman as he arrived in Jerusalem, with the first account found within a Hebrew miscellany published around 450 years after Halevi's presumed death.
According to the sixteenth century legend, he died as a martyr while reciting his composition "
Ode to Zion" in front of the gates of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.
An 1141 letter to a prominent rabbi in Damascus also potentially refers to Halevi's death at the gates of Jerusalem. As only fragments are preserved of this letter, it's unclear whether the writer is discussing Halevi or another Jew.
notes that "the legend of his martyrdom, combined with the prominence of the Land of Israel in his life and works, invested his image with a mystique that had an important afterlife in Zionist literature."
Documents that remain from Halevi's last years are
panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of - ' ...
to his various hosts in Egypt and explorations of his religious motivations for his aliyah, preserved in the
Cairo geniza
The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled the Cairo Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Judaism, Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra ...
. Some contain imaginary details of the voyage, such as descriptions of a turbulent sea that express trepidation for the journey but hope for the spiritual light that might follow. Poems and letters bearing on Halevi's journey are translated and explicated in Raymond P. Scheindlin, ''The Song of the Distant Dove'' (Oxford University Press, 2007).
Burial
The traditional tombs of Judah Halevi and
Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...
are located in
Cabul
Cabul (), classical spelling: Chabolo; Chabulon, is a location in the Lower Galilee mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, now the Kabul local council in Israel, 9 or east of Acco.
History Bronze and Iron ages
Cabul is first mentioned as one of the l ...
, a village in the
Galilee
Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ).
''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
.
Poetry
Halevi's work covers common subjects in Spanish Hebrew poetry using forms and artistic patterns of secular and religious poetry. Some formats include the ''
zajal
''Zajal'' () is a traditional form of oral Strophic form, strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect. The earliest recorded zajal poet was Ibn Quzman of al-Andalus who lived from 1078 to 1160. Most scholars see the Andalusi Arabic ''zajal' ...
'', the ', and poems utilizing
internal rhyme
In poetry, internal rhyme, or middle rhyme, is rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines. By contrast, rhyme between line endings is known as end rhyme.
Internal rhyme schemes can be denote ...
, classical
monorhyme Monorhyme is a passage, stanza, or entire poem in which all lines have the same end rhyme. The term "monorhyme" describes the use of one (mono) type of repetitious sound (rhyme). This is common in Arabic, Persian, Latin and Welsh work, such as '' Th ...
patterns and the recently invented
strophic
Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...
patterns. About 800 of his poems are known to us today.
The scholar Jose de la Fuente Salvat elevates Halevi to the "most important poet in Judaism of all times". He composed ' in Hebrew with ''
kharja
A ''kharja'' or ''kharjah'' ( ; ; ; also known as a ''markaz'' 'center'), is the final couple of ''abyāt'', or verses, of a '' muwaššaḥa'' ( 'girdle'), a poem or song of the strophic lyric genre from al-Andalus. The ''kharja'' can be ...
s'' containing
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and
Romance
Romance may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...
.
''Diwan''
Shortly after his death, his poetry was collected into a
''dīwān'', apparently in Egypt and based on smaller collections of his poetry already in circulation.
His ''diwan'' was edited and published by
Haim (Henrik) Bródy in four volumes from 1895 to 1904.
Bródy's edition divides ha-Levi's work as follows:
# Poems about friendship and laudatory poems (''shirei yedidut veshirei hakavod''): 138 poems.
# Pieces of correspondence in rhymed prose (''mikhtavim''): 7 pieces.
# Love poems (''shirei ahavah''): 66 poems.
# Elegies (''kol bochim; kinot v'hespedim''): 43 pieces.
# Elevation of the soul to Zion; traveling poems (''massa nefesh tziyonah''; ''shirei tziyon veshirei massa''): 23 poems.
# Riddle poems (''ḥidot''): 49 poems.
# Other poems (''she'erit Yehudah''; ''shirim shonim''): 120 poems.
Secular poetry
Judah's secular or non-religious poetry is composed of poems of friendship, love, humor, and eulogy.
Drinking song
A drinking song is a song that is sung before or during Alcoholic beverage, alcohol consumption. Most drinking songs are Folk music, folk songs or commercium songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyri ...
s by Judah have also been preserved,
as well as verses relating to his vocational work as a physician. Halevi's prayer for the physician was first translated into English in 1924:
"My God, heal me and I shall be healed.
Let not Thine anger be kindled against me so that I be consumed.
My medicines are from you, whether good
Or evil, whether strong or weak.
It is Thou who shalt choose, not I.
Of Thy knowledge is the evil and the fair.
Not upon my power of healing I rely.
Only for Thine healing do I watch."
Friendship
Even in Judah's youth, a large number of illustrious men gathered around him, like
Levi al-Tabban of
Zaragoza
Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, the aged poet Judah ben Abun, Judah ibn Ghayyat of Granada,
Moses ibn Ezra
Moses ben Jacob ibn Ezra, known as Ha-Sallaḥ ("writer of penitential prayers") (, ) was an Andalusi Jewish rabbi, philosopher, linguist, and poet. He was born in Granada about 1055–1060, and died after 1138. Ibn Ezra is considered to hav ...
and his brothers Judah, Joseph, and Isaac, the vizier Abu al-Hasan, Meïr ibn Kamnial, the physician and poet Solomon ben Mu'allam of Seville, besides his schoolmates Joseph ibn Migas and Baruch Albalia and the grammarian
Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...
.
In
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to:
* Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain
* Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province
Córdoba or Cord ...
, Judah addressed a touching farewell poem to Joseph ibn Ẓaddiḳ, the philosopher and poet. In Egypt, celebrated men vied with one another in entertaining him, his reception was a veritable triumph. Here his particular friends were
Aaron ben Jeshua Alamani in Alexandria, the nagid Samuel ben Hananiah in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Halfon ha-Levi in Damietta, and an unknown man in Tyre, probably his last friend. In their sorrow and joy, in the creative spirit and all that moved the souls of these men, Judah sympathetically shared; as he says in the beginning of a short poem: "My heart belongs to you, ye noble souls, who draw me to you with bonds of love".
Elegy
Especially tender and plaintive is Judah's tone in his elegies.
He often utilized the
qasida
The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; plural ''qaṣā’id'') is an ancient Arabic word and form of poetry, often translated as ode. The qasida originated in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and passed into non-Arabic cultures after the Arab Mus ...
form and meditated on death and fate. Many of them are dedicated to friends such as the brothers Judah (Nos. 19, 20), Isaac (No. 21), and Moses ibn Ezra (No. 16), R. Baruch (Nos. 23, 28), Meïr ibn Migas (No. 27),
Isaac Alfasi
Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (1013–1103) (, ), also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym, the Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of halakha, Jewish law). He is best known for his work of '' ...
, head of the yeshiva in
Lucena, Cordoba (No. 14), and others. In the case of Solomon ibn Farissol, who was murdered on May 3, 1108, Judah suddenly changed his poem of eulogy (Nos. 11, 22) into one of lamentation (Nos. 12, 13, 93 et seq.).
Child mortality due to plague was high in Judah's time and the historical record contains five elegies that mourn the death of a child. Biographer Hillel Halkin hypothesizes that at least one of these honors one of Judah's children who did not reach adulthood and who is lost to history.
Love
Joyous, careless youth, and merry, happy delight in life find their expression in his love-songs, many of which are
epithalamia
An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' "nuptial chamber") is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This fo ...
. In Egypt, where the muse of his youth found a glorious "Indian summer" in the circle of his friends, he wrote his "swan-song":
"Wondrous is this land to see, With perfume its meadows laden, But more fair than all to me Is yon slender, gentle maiden. Ah, Time's swift flight I fain would stay, Forgetting that my locks are gray."
Many of his poems are addressed to a gazelle or deer according to the custom in al-Andalus,
and his oeuvre includes homoerotic poems such as ''"That Day While I Had Him"'' and ''"To Ibn Al-Mu'allim''." They follow established themes in Arabic and Hebrew poetry such as the yearning of the lover contrasted with the cruelty of the beloved, who possesses a shining countenance. It is unknown whether this work reflects personal experience or artistic tradition.
Riddles
Judah is noted as the most prolific composer of
Hebrew riddles, with a corpus of at least sixty-seven riddles,
some of which survive in his own hand, and even in draft form,
though only a few have been translated into English. Judah's riddles are mostly short, monorhyme compositions on concrete subjects such as everyday objects, animals and plants, or a name or word. One example is the following: "What is it that's blind with an eye in its head, but the race of mankind its use can not spare; spends all its life in clothing the dead, but always itself is naked and bare?"
Religious poetry
Shirei Zion (Songs of Zion)
Halevi's attachment to the Jewish people is a significant theme in his religious poetry; he identifies his sufferings and hopes with that of the broader group. Like the authors of the
Psalm
The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament.
The book is an anthology of H ...
s, he sinks his own identity in the wider one of the people of Israel, so that it is not always easy to distinguish the personality of the speaker. Though his impassioned call to his contemporaries to return to
Zion
Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole.
The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...
might have been received with indifference, or even with mockery; his own decision to go to Jerusalem never wavered. "Can we hope for any other refuge either in the East or in the West where we may dwell in safety?" he exclaims to one of his opponents (ib.). His
Zionides
Zionides () are ''piyyutim'' which express the longing of the Jewish nation to see the Temple Mount, hill of Zion and the city of Jerusalem shine again in all their former glory. They date back to the time immediately after the destruction of Solo ...
give voice both to the Jewish people as a whole and to each individual Jew, and he never lost faith in the eventual deliverance and redemption of Israel and his people:
"Lo! Sun and moon, these minister for aye; The laws of day and night cease nevermore: Given for signs to Jacob's seed that they Shall ever be a nation — till these be o'er. If with His left hand He should thrust away, Lo! with His right hand He shall draw them nigh."
One of his Zionides,
''Tziyyon ha-lo tishali'' (), laments the destruction of the temple and puts forth the dream of redemption. It is also one of the most famous
kinnot
Kinnot (; also kinnos, kinoth, qinot, qinoth; singular kinah, qinah or kinnah) are Hebrew dirges (sad poems) or elegies. The term is used to refer both to dirges in the Hebrew Bible, and also to later poems which are traditionally recited by Jews ...
Jews recite on
Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...
:
Zion, wilt thou not ask if peace's wing / Shadows the captives that ensue thy peace / Left lonely from thine ancient shepherding? Lo! west and east and north and south — world-wide / All those from far and near, without surcease / Salute thee: Peace and Peace from every side.
Halevi's poems of longing for Israel like ''
Libi baMizrach'' () juxtapose love and pain, and dream and reality to express the distance between Spain and the Middle East and his desire to bridge it. He believed he would find true liberation through subservience to God's will in Israel.
Judah was recognized by his contemporaries and in succeeding generations as "the great Jewish
national poet
A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...
."
Some of his poetry and writing has also been considered an early expression of support for Jewish nationalism.
Shirei Galut (Songs of the Diaspora)
Judah combined descriptions from
Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
with personal and historical Jewish experiences to form another kind of religiously themed poetry. He used devices like sound patterns and vivid imagery to evoke the suffering of exile and fear of the destruction of his people as a result of a delayed redemption.
Lyrical poetry
Halevi was a prolific author of
piyyut
A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some p ...
im,
selichot
Selichot (, singular: , ''səliḥā'') are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are a central theme throughout these pra ...
and
kinnot
Kinnot (; also kinnos, kinoth, qinot, qinoth; singular kinah, qinah or kinnah) are Hebrew dirges (sad poems) or elegies. The term is used to refer both to dirges in the Hebrew Bible, and also to later poems which are traditionally recited by Jews ...
.
They were carried to all lands, even as far as
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, and they influenced the rituals of the most distant countries. Even the
Karaites incorporated some of them into their prayer-book; so that there is scarcely a synagogue in which Judah's songs are not sung in the course of the service. The following observation on Judah's synagogal poems is made by Zunz:
"As the perfume and beauty of a rose are within it, and do not come from without, so with Judah word and Bible passage, meter and rime, are one with the soul of the poem; as in true works of
art
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
, and always in nature, one is never disturbed by anything external, arbitrary, or extraneous."
His
piyyut
A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some p ...
''Mi Khamokha'' (), was translated by
Samuel di Castelnuovo Samuel di Castelnuovo, who lived at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth, was secretary of the Jewish community of Rome.
He edited and probably translated into Italian:
* Judah ha-Levi's piyyut, ''Mi kamoka'', Ven ...
and published in Venice in 1609.
Much of his work that expresses his personal relationship with God was later established as liturgical poetry.
Judah also wrote several
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
hymns. One ends with the words:
"On Friday doth my cup o'erflow / What blissful rest the night shall know / When, in thine arms, my toil and woe / Are all forgot, Sabbath my love!
'Tis dusk, with sudden light, distilled / From one sweet face, the world is filled; / The tumult of my heart is stilled / For thou art come, Sabbath my love!
Bring fruits and wine and sing a gladsome lay, / Cry, 'Come in peace, O restful Seventh day!'
Judah used complicated
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
meters in his poems.
However, his pupil Solomon Parḥon, who wrote at
Salerno
Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...
in 1160, relates that Judah repented having used the new metrical methods, and had declared he would not again employ them. A later critic, applying a
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
ic
witticism
Wit is a form of intelligent humour—the ability to say or write things that are clever and typically funny. Someone witty, also known as a wit, is a person skilled at wit, making spontaneous one-line or single-phrase jokes. Forms of wit incl ...
to Judah, has said: "It is hard for the dough when the baker himself calls it bad."
Philosophy
Halevi studied philosophy as a youth. He admired it but criticized it,
in a way comparable to
al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...
.
In the ''
Kuzari
The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' (; : ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also known as the Book of the Khazar (: ''Sefer ha-Kuzari''), is one of the most ...
'', he confronts
Aristotelian philosophy
Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the soc ...
, Christianity and Islam and expounds his views upon the teachings of Judaism, speaking in favor of accessing God through tradition and devotion rather than philosophical speculation. The work was originally written in Arabic, and entitled ''Kitab al-Ḥujjah wal-Dalil fi Nuṣr al-Din al-Dhalil'', كتاب الحجة و الدليل في نصرة الدين الذليل,.
Judah ibn Tibbon
Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (1120 – after 1190) was a translator and physician.
Born in Granada, he left Spain in 1150, probably on account of persecution by the Almohades, and went to Lunel in southern France. Benjamin of Tudela mentions him as ...
translated it into Hebrew in the mid-12th century with the title ''Sefer Hokhahah ve ha Re'ayah le Hagganat haDat haBezuyah'' or ''Sefer ha-
Kuzari
The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' (; : ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also known as the Book of the Khazar (: ''Sefer ha-Kuzari''), is one of the most ...
'').
The ''Kuzari'' is structured as a fictional dialogue between the king of the
Khazars
The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...
and representatives of various faiths: a philosopher, a Christian, a Muslim, and a Jewish rabbi, each presenting arguments in favour of their respective traditions. The king, seeking the true religion, evaluates these views and ultimately embraces Judaism as the most authentic expression of divine truth. A central theme is in the work is that God, the people of Israel, and the Land of Israel are inseparably bound, a conviction that inspired the author himself to journey to Jerusalem.
Editions, translations and commentaries
*
Heinrich Brody, ''Dîwân des Abû-l-Hasan Jehudah ha-Levi/Diwan wĕ-hu 'sefer kolel šire 'abir ha-mešorerim Yĕhudah ben Šĕmu'el ha-Levi''. 4 vols (Berlin: Itzkowski, 1894-1930)
vol. 1vol. 2 part 2 (notes), pp. 157-330vol. 3, pp. 1-144vol. 3, pp. 145-308vol. 4
According to a 2002 assessment, this is 'a flawed edition marred by numerous textual mistakes and by the erroneous inclusion of poems by other poets. It was also far from including ha-Levi's complete oeuvre'. However, 'even today, nearly a century after Brody's effort, there is still no authorized edition of Judah ha-Levi's work. The absence of such an edition has been, and will continue to be, an obstacle toward the completion of any credible study of ha-Levi's poetry.'
* ''Selected Poems of Judah Halevi'', ed. by Heinrich Brody and Harry Elson, trans. by Nina Salaman (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1974), irst publ. 1924
* ''Poemas sagrados y profanos de Yehuda Halevi'', trans. by Maximo Jose Kahn and Juan Gil-Albert (Mexico, diciones mensaje1943).
* ''Yehuda Ha-Leví: Poemas'', trans. by Ángel Sáenz-Badillos and Judit Targarona Borrás (Madrid: Clasicos Alfaguara, 1994)
* ''Las 'Sĕlīḥot la-'ašmurot' de R. Yehudah ha-Leví: traducción y estudio literario'', ed. and trans. by M.ª
* Isabel Pérez Alonso, Colección vítor, 415 (Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 2017),
* Luzzatto, דיואן ר' יהודה הלוי. Lyck, 1864.
* Rosenzweig, Franz. ''Jehuda Halevi, zweiundneunzig Hymnen und Gedichte Deutsch.'' Berlin, ublication date thought to be 1926
* Bernstein, S. ''Shirei Yehudah Halevi''. 1944
* Zmora, ר' יהודה הלוי. 1964
* Schirmann, שירים חדשים מן הגניזה, 1965
Literary journals and periodicals that have published his work include:Jacob ben Chayyim Comprat Vidal Farissol
Jacob ben Chayyim Comprat Vidal Farissol (born 1405 - ) was a French Jewish scholar of the early 15th century. Born in Avignon, he was a liturgical poet and the grandson of Vitalis Farissol, who had been a chief bailiff of Avignon in 1400. Faris ...
published a commentary on the ''Kuzari
The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' (; : ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also known as the Book of the Khazar (: ''Sefer ha-Kuzari''), is one of the most ...
'' called the "Beit Ya'akob."
See also
* Jewish poetry from al-Andalus
The golden age of Jewish poetry in Al-Andalus developed in the literary courts of the various taifas. Like its Arabic counterpart, its production diminished in the 12th century under the rule of the Almoravids and Almohads. In the last part of th ...
* Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
* Moses ibn Ezra
Moses ben Jacob ibn Ezra, known as Ha-Sallaḥ ("writer of penitential prayers") (, ) was an Andalusi Jewish rabbi, philosopher, linguist, and poet. He was born in Granada about 1055–1060, and died after 1138. Ibn Ezra is considered to hav ...
* Samuel ibn Naghrillah
Shmuel ibn Naghrillah (; ), mainly known as Shmuel HaNagid () and Isma'il ibn Naghrilla (993–1056), was a Jewish statesman, military commander, scholar, linguist and poet in medieval al-Andalus. He served as grand vizier of the Taifa of Granada ...
* Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah (, ; , ) was an 11th-century Jews, Jewish poet and Jewish philosopher, philosopher in the Neoplatonism, Neo-Platonic tradition in Al-Andalus. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical ...
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Judah HaLevi
''Encyclopaedia Judaica
The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...
'' article by Daniel J. Lasker and Angel Sáenz-Badillos at Encyclopedia.com
''Encyclopedia.com'' is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information, images, and videos from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works.
History
The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...
Judah Halevi
by Barry Kogan at ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') is a freely available online philosophy resource published and maintained by Stanford University, encompassing both an online encyclopedia of philosophy and peer-reviewed original publication ...
''
*
"Yehudah Ha-Levi: Poet Philosopher of Sepharad," Video Lecture
by Dr. Henry Abramson of Touro College South
Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac a ...
The Kitab al-Khazari of Judah Hallevi, full English translation at sacred-texts.com
– English translations.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halevi, Judah
1070s births
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11th-century Jews from al-Andalus
11th-century writers from al-Andalus
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12th-century people from León and Castile
Khazar studies
Hebrew-language poets
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People from Toledo, Spain
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