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Concept
Judah Halevi
Summary
Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; Hebrew: יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi יהודה בן שמואל הלוי; Arabic: يهوذا اللاوي Yahuḏa al-Lāwī; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish, poet, physician and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075. He is thought to have died in 1141, in either Jerusalem, at that point the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, or in Alexandria, Egypt.
Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets, celebrated both for his secular and religious poems, many of which appear in present-day liturgy. His most famous philosophical work is the Sefer ha-Kuzari.
Judah ben Shmuel Halevi was born either in Toledo or Tudela, Spain in 1075. The confusion surrounding his place of birth arises from unclear text in a manuscript. Both cities were under Muslim control when he grew up but were conquered by Christian rulers during his lifetime; Toledo by Alfonso VI in 1086, and Tudela by Alfonso the Battler in 1118. He was educated in traditional Jewish scholarship, in Arabic literature, and in the Greek sciences and philosophy that were available in Arabic. As a youth, he traveled to Granada, the main center of Jewish literary and intellectual life at the time. There he modeled work after Moses Ibn Ezra for a competition, sparking recognition for Halevi’s aptitude as a poet as well as a close friendship with Ibn Ezra. As an adult he was a physician and an active participant in trade and Jewish communal affairs. He was in contact with both Jewish and non-Jewish nobles and dignitaries within Spain and around the world. For at least part of his life he lived in Toledo and may have practiced medicine for the court there. He and Abraham ibn Ezra were well acquainted and the latter quoted Halevi on multiple occasions in his commentary on Tanakh.
Like other Jewish poets during the “Golden Age of Jewish culture” of the 10th to 12th century, he employed the patterns and themes of Arabic poetry.
Official source
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