(c. 1075-1141). Poet and philosopher. Born in Spain, he lived most of his life there and studied medicine, philosophy, Hebrew, and Arabic. He lived in various places, including Toledo and Cordova, practicing medicine and engaging in commerce. He was successful in his chosen fields and enjoyed a comfortable life, surrounded by many friends, including Moses Ibn Ezra and Abraham Ibn Ezra. This was a time of upheaval---the period of the First Crusade---when many, including Jews, were convinced that the final redemption was at hand. This may explain why, at the age of 60, Judah decided to leave his home, his wife, and his children, to move to Erets Israel. He was convinced that a Jew living outside the Holy Land, by definition, lived an incomplete life, and that only in Erets Israel could he realize his full potential. This acute longing is reflected in many of his poems.
Judah remained in Egypt for a time, and recent discoveries have shown that he died there before being able to proceed to his destination. This disproves a popular legend according to which he was killed by an Arab horseman in sight of Jerusalem while reciting one of his famous laments for Zion.
Judah Halevi's poetry is adapted to Hebrew from the prevalent Arabic patterns and is noted for its remarkable rhyme, meter, and symbolism. His 800 known poems may be divided into various categories: songs in praise of friends; songs of nature; Piyyutim (religious poems), many of which are included in the liturgy; Kinot or lamentations, both on Erets Israel and on friends who had died; and poems about Erets Israel. The last may be divided into three subcategories: poems of longing for the Land of Israel (the Zionides); poems in which he disputes with his friends about the wisdom of traveling to Israel; and poems describing his travels on the way to the Land of Israel.
It has been suggested that at a certain point in Judah's life he underwent a crisis which deeply affected him. This would explain the seemingly incongruous combination of love poems, some with clearly erotic overtones, and his later, deeply religious poetry. Already during his lifetime, his poems were known beyond the borders of Spain. They have been included in collections of piyyutim and poetry, in prayer books, and in collections of kinot and Seliḥot.
Judah Halevi's religious philosophy is contained in a single book, written in Arabic and commonly known as Sefer ha-Kuzari ("The Book of the Khazars"). The book uses the dramatic background of a dialogue between a Jewish scholar and the king of the Khazar tribe who subsequently converted to Judaism.. Judah is concerned with the conflict between philosophy and religious faith. Jewish. scholars in his time were exposed to classical Greek thought through the abridged translations of the Greek philosophers by Arab scholars, with the obvious challenge to religion. He tries to show that Aristotelianism is valid only in the sciences of mathematics and logic but defective in psychology and metaphysics. In any case, it is only religious faith which can give real satisfaction to man and bring him close to God. Judaism does this the most effectively because it is a Divinely revealed religion, and the Torah with its commandments is God's prescription and laws for human happiness.
The Kuzari is not a systematic exploration of Judaism and yet it is more than mere apologetics. It expounds a number of key themes, particularly the concepts of prophecy, revelation, the place of the law, and the uniqueness of the Jewish people. It is also the first serious attempt to confront the challenges of Christianity and Islam for supremacy over Judaism. Prophecy is dealt with at length. For the philosopher, prophecy is a natural outflow of the perfect man's imaginative faculty. For Judah Halevi, prophecy is primarily the intervention of God in choosing a messenger to transmit his will. The patriarchs were prophets, and they were followed by the great biblical prophets who instilled a prophetic seed in the hearts of the Jewish people. Because of their devotion to God and the Torah, the Jews alone are the people of prophecy, and the Land of Israel is the land of the prophetic word. These concepts are the core of what seems to be Halevi's particularism.
In another part of the book, he examines the Divine Names Elohim and YHWH. (See God, Names of). The first describes God in His transcendent power--- almost identifiable with the impersonal First Cause of Greek philosophy. But it is as YHWH that God relates to the individual and illustrates the deep significance of religious faith for the believer. The role of the Jews as the true prophetic people with this close experience of God is to spread a knowledge of God to all mankind, which is to be ultimately transformed by submission to God's will.
The Kuzari had a great influence in its time, when Jews needed answers to challenges which came from many directions. Its influence continued throughout the ages and provided an important point of comparison and contrast with the writings of Maimonides.
