Ha-Levi, Judah ben Samuel (ca. 1085-ca. 1140)

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Ha-Levi, Judah ben Samuel (ca. 1085-ca. 1140)

Celebrated Jewish theologian and mystic. Born in Tuledo, Spain, Ha-Levi became a prominent physician known for poetry celebrating Jerusalem and the Land of Zion. Ha-Levi seems to have had some conception of elementary spirits, for he said that some angels are "created for the time being, out of the subtle elements of matter." He was chiefly noted for his liturgical hymns, used extensively in Sephardic rites.