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Judah Hallevi
JUDAH HALLEVI (c. 1075-1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, around 1075 or 1086, at that time a bright spot in the history o...view moreJUDAH HALLEVI (c. 1075-1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, around 1075 or 1086, at that time a bright spot in the history of Jewish-Muslim relations, when Jewish communities prospered under a tolerant Islamic state, and scholarship flourished. Hallevi studied the Talmud and Kabbalah, wrote secular poetry, and was fluent both in Hebrew and Arabic. He is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets, celebrated both for his religious and secular poems, many of which appear in present-day liturgy. His greatest philosophical work was The Book of Kuzari. He died shortly after arriving in the Holy Land in 1141, at that point the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
HARTWIG HIRSCHFELD MRAS (1854-1934) was a Prussian-born British Orientalist, bibliographer, and educator. His particular scholarly interest lay in Arabic Jewish literature and in the relationship between Jewish and Arab cultures. He is best known for his editions of Judah Halevi’s The Book of Kuzari, which he published in its original Judeo-Arabic and in Hebrew, German and English translations. He also contributed articles to numerous periodicals, most notably a series of essays on the Arabic fragments in the Cairo Geniza in the Jewish Quarterly Review (1903-1908).view less