Judah Halevi
Judah Halevi (c.1075–1141). Jewish philosopher and poet. Judah spent much of his life travelling round the various Jewish communities of Spain. He was a close friend of Abraham ibn Ezra who quoted his works of grammar and philosophy. Towards the end of his life, he travelled to Erez Israel, but probably died on the way there in Egypt. According to legend, he was trampled to death in one of the gateways of Jerusalem.
About 800 of his poems have survived, including love poems, laments, lyric poetry, and songs of Zion. His philosophy is contained in his Kitab al-Hujja wa-al-Dalil fi Nasr al-Din al-Dhalil (The Book of Argument and Proof in Defence of the Despised Faith), generally known as Sefer ha-Kuzari (The Book of the Kuzari, 1506). For both Abraham Isaac Kook and Franz Rosenzweig it was seen as a most faithful picture of the unique attributes of Judaism.
About 800 of his poems have survived, including love poems, laments, lyric poetry, and songs of Zion. His philosophy is contained in his Kitab al-Hujja wa-al-Dalil fi Nasr al-Din al-Dhalil (The Book of Argument and Proof in Defence of the Despised Faith), generally known as Sefer ha-Kuzari (The Book of the Kuzari, 1506). For both Abraham Isaac Kook and Franz Rosenzweig it was seen as a most faithful picture of the unique attributes of Judaism.
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
Judah Halevi
