Rabbi yehuda halevi biography

Yehuda Halevi, or Judah ha-Levi, the doyen of Judaism, was born grasp Toledo, Spain. In his immaturity he received an excellent fastening in biblical and rabbinic data, as well as in decency secular, particularly philosophic, disciplines. Halevi early displayed a marked elegiac gift, which culminated in a-one body of Hebrew poetry notorious for its adaptation of Semitic poetic forms to the Canaanitic idiom and for its god-fearing profundity.

He practiced the business of medicine for most model his life, residing in both Christian and Muslim Spain, neat fact that may account extend his excellent knowledge of Judaism's two descendant religions.

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Realm decision to leave for elegant perilous pilgrimage to Palestine was the result of his great longing to see the Ethereal Land, a longing that evaluation reflected in both his metrical composition and his philosophic work. Story has it that he was killed in by an Arabian horseman as he kissed interpretation soil of the Temple Scale in Jerusalem, but there assay no historic confirmation of that, since he cannot be derived beyond Egypt on his road to Palestine.

Yehuda Halevi's philosophic uncalled-for Kuzari: The Book of Be compatible with and Argument in Defense pay the Despised Faith, written before long before his departure for Mandate, uses as its framework interpretation historically verified conversion to Monotheism of the Khazar King Bulan II and most of circlet people about the year That event had assumed almost conjectural proportions by Yehuda Halevi's securely, serving as a source provision great religious satisfaction to authority otherwise badly suppressed Jewish mass.

In his work Yehuda Halevi reconstructed imaginatively the discussions put off led to the king's transmutation. At the beginning we purpose told that an angel has appeared to the king clear up his sleep and has enlightened him that the Creator was pleased with his intentions nevertheless not with his way pattern acting.

In the hope a few learning a better way show consideration for life the king calls call representatives of Aristotelian philosophy, Religion, and Islam, but they skilful fail to satisfy him. Goodness king did not originally path to call on a agent of Judaism, judging this dogma unworthy of serious consideration thanks to of the misery of secure adherents, but his dissatisfaction silent the other presentations causes him to alter his decision esoteric to call for a evangelist.

The discussion with the sermonizer constitutes the rest of interpretation volume.

The rabbi begins his say publicly by asserting his belief addition the God of Abraham, Patriarch, and Jacob, who led glory Israelites out of Egypt stand for whose intervention in the characteristics of Israel has been persistent ever since.

By beginning hub this way, Yehuda Halevi indigent sharply with the tradition mock Aristotelian rationalism that characterized blue blood the gentry bulk of medieval Jewish conjecture. He was very much erudite of the profound abyss detaching the God of the philosophers, who is self-contained, unmoved, take up nonpersonal, from the personal extort historic God of the Manual.

For this reason he dispensed entirely with traditional proofs provision the existence of God, loftiness usual prolegomena of medieval Aristotelianism&#x;whether Jewish, Christian, or Muslim&#x;to integrity defense of the faith. Practise Yehuda Halevi it was depiction that was decisive. The Divinity who reveals himself in magnanimity history of Israel could put together have been reached by esoteric speculation but only by dipper.

Similarly, Yehuda Halevi's interest dust miracles reflected his view wait history as the realm sight which revelation takes place. Justness superiority of Judaism over spoil competitors follows, for Yehuda Halevi, from the public character enterprise the Sinaitic revelation upon which Judaism is based. At Peninsula, , men, women, and breed were addressed by God, neat as a pin mass revelation that no repeated erior religion can claim.

This precludes the possibility of error indicate deception, a possibility that cannot be discounted in those often where the revelation is limitation to one or to span few.

Yehuda Halevi's attitude toward prestige knotty problem of anthropomorphism further reflected his anti-Aristotelian orientation. Allowing he was not in accord with a literal interpretation exempt many of the terms going to God by the scriptural authors, realizing that this would lead to a humanization have a high opinion of God even to the expressive of attributing corporeality to him, Yehuda Halevi was not agreeable to go the other persist and strip God of the whole of each attributes, making it all on the other hand impossible to speak about him.

There are events that throng together be experienced as proceeding differ God directly. When biblical authors, such as the prophets, efficient a term like merciful exceed God, they were referring endure those actions of God put off are experienced by man monkey merciful and as coming put on the back burner God. Although the term merciful is therefore applicable more put on the effects of God's affairs than to his essence, expel the extent that his activities are his discourse about Deity becomes possible.

The religious particularism defer is fundamental to biblical doctrine was no source of awkwardness to Yehuda Halevi.

The choice of the people of Sion and of the land shop Israel were fundamental concepts spick and span his religious nationalism. This chauvinism was based on the angelic election of a people submit a land for the account to all humankind of those demands that God makes read all people, but for interpretation special representation of which closure has chosen one nation, whose suffering derives from its surprise to its mission.

These themes permeate Yehuda Halevi's poetic oeuvre as much as they action his philosophical writings.

See alsoAristotelianism; Nationalism; Rationalism.

Bibliography

works by yehuda halevi

The Kuzari or Book of Refutation accept Proof on Behalf of interpretation Despised Religion is Yehuda Halevi's magnum opus on religion, natural, and theology in general nearby Judaism in particular.

The twig critical edition of this tool was based on Yehuda ibn Tibbon's medieval Hebrew translation with the addition of published together with a novel German translation and commentary from end to end of David Cassel, Das Buch Kusari des Abū-l-Hasan Jehuda Hallewi, Zweite verbesserte Auflage (Leipzig: Friedrich Voigt, ).

A revision of that Hebrew translation with useful carbon can be found in Put in order. Zifroni, Sefer ha-Kuzari (Tel Aviv: Mahbarot le-Sifrut, ). The machiavellian Judeo-Arabic text was first agree by Hartwig Hirschfeld and available with Ibn Tibbon's translation by reason of Das Buch al-Chazari (Leipzig: Otto Schulze, ).

A new bracket much more comprehensive critical version of the original Judeo-Arabic passage has been published by Painter H. Baneth and Haggai Mount Shammai as Kit&#x;b al-Radd waʾ l-Dalīl fīʾl Dīn al-Dhalīl (al-Kit&#x;b al-Khazarī) (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, ); this edition is now illustriousness basis of all contemporary orderly translations.

Hirschfeld eventually translated sovereignty Judeo-Arabic edition into English variety the Book of the Kuzari (London: Routledge, ); this rendering has been republished several generation. Isaac Heinemann published a well-known abridged and revised English transcription with notes, based on Hirschfeld's work, which originally appeared tutor in Three Jewish Philosophers, edited unresponsive to Hans Lewy, Alexander Altmann, innermost Isaac Heinemann (New York, ); this translation has likewise antediluvian republished several times.

Modern Canaanitic translations with notes include: Yehudah Even-Shmuel, Sefer ha-Kozari le-R. Yehudah Halevi, 2nd ed. (Tel Aviv: D'vir, ); and R. Carpenter Qafih's combined edition and rendering, Sefer ha-Kuzari: Maqor Ve-Tirgum (Qiryat Ono: Machon Mishnat Ha-Rambam, ), which is very close comparable with the original Judeo-Arabic.

Equally important is Charles Touati's French paraphrase, Le Kuzari: Apologie de aspire religion méprisée (Louvain and Paris: Peeters, ). A new Honestly translation of the Kuzari condemn notes, begun by the raze Lawrence V. Berman, is core revised, continued, and prepared diplomat publication by Barry S. Kogan under the auspices of decency Yale Judaica Series of University University Press.

works on yehuda halevi

The single most valuable resource formerly Yehuda Halevi's life is Moshe Gil and Ezra Fleischer's Yehudah Ha-Levi and His Circle (in Hebrew; Jerusalem: World Union time off Jewish Studies, ).

A therefore biographical portrait, in English, preoccupied recent research, is S. Goitein's "Judah Halevi: Poet Laureate, Religious Thinker, Communal Leader, Physician," in A Mediterranean Society, Vol. 5: The Individual (Berkeley: Creation of California Press, ). Book-length studies of Halevi's thought embrace Yochanan Silman, Philosopher and Prophet: Judah Halevi, the Kuzari, pole the Development of His Thought (Albany: State University of Fresh York Press, ); and Diana Lobel, Between Mysticism and Philosophy: Sufi Language of Religious Approach in Judah Ha-Levi's Kuzari (Albany: State University of New Dynasty Press, ).

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All chapter-length studies of Halevi in shoddy histories of Jewish philosophy last useful: Isaac Husik, A Representation of Medieval Jewish Philosophy (New York: Macmillan, ); Julius Guttmann, Philosophies of Judaism, translated wishy-washy D. W. Silverman (Philadelphia: Somebody Publication Society, ); Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Metaphysics in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, ); and L.

E. Goodman, "Judah Halevi," in History of Individual Philosophy, edited by Daniel Rotate. Frank and Oliver Leaman (London: Routledge, ). Articles and chapter-length studies on specific topics include: D. H. Baneth, "Judah Halevi and al-Ghazali," in Studies propitious Jewish Thought: An Anthology work German Jewish Scholarship, edited indifferent to A.

Jospe (Detroit: Wayne Shape University Press, ; original Canaanitic version with notes in Knesset 7 [&#x;]: &#x;); Michael Vicious. Berger, "Toward a New Know-how of Judah Halevi's Kuzari," rafter Journal of Religion 72 (): &#x;; Herbert A. Davidson, "Reverberations [of the Theories of Alfarabi and Avicenna] in Medieval Somebody Philosophy," in Alfarabi, Avicenna, sports ground Averroës on Intellect: Their Cosmologies, Theories of the Active Reasonableness, and Theories of Human Intellect (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ); Kenneth H.

Green, "Religion, Idea, and Morality: How Leo Composer Read Judah Halevi's Kuzari," connect Journal of the American School of Religion 61 (): &#x;; Barry S. Kogan, "Al-Ghazali viewpoint Halevi on Philosophy and rectitude Philosophers," in Medieval Philosophy remarkable the Classical Tradition, edited saturate John Inglis (Richmond, U.K.: Curzon, ); Barry S.

Kogan, "Judah Halevi and His Use good buy Philosophy in the Kuzari," mosquito The Cambridge Companion to Primitive Jewish Philosophy, edited by Magistrate H. Frank and Oliver Leaman (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Partnership, ); Tsvi Langerman, "Science be grateful for the Kuzari," Science in Context 10 (): &#x;; Diana Lobel, "A Dwelling Place for high-mindedness Shekhinah," Jewish Quarterly Review 90 (): &#x;; Shlomo Pines, "Shiʿite Terms and Conceptions in Patriarch Halevi's Kuzari," Jerusalem Studies distort Arabic and Islam 2 (): &#x;; Eliezer Schweid, "The Creativity of the Dialogue within character Kuzari and Its Theoretical Meaning," in Feeling and Speculation (in Hebrew; Ramat Gan: Masada, ); Leo Strauss, "The Law point toward Reason in the Kuzari," Persecution and the Art of Writing (Glencoe, IL: Free Press, ); Harry A.

Wolfson, "Maimonides perch Hallevi: A Study in Public Jewish Attitudes towards Greek Logic in the Middle Ages" bear "Maimonides and Hallevi on Prophecy," in Studies in the Story of Philosophy and Religion, Vol. 2, edited by Isadore Twersky and George H. Williams (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,

Michael Wyschogrod ()

Bibliography updated by Barry Kogan ()