“The Law of Reason in the Kuzari” by Leo Strauss

Leo Strauss, “The Law of Reason in the Kuzari,” Persecution and the Art of Writing, University of Chicago Press, 1988. [Essay originally published in 1943].  

Leo Strauss’ most significant statement on Judah Halevi, this essay appeared independently in 1943. It subsequently reappeared as a chapter in Strauss’ book Persecution and the Art of Writing. Strauss uses the essay to interpret Halevi as well as advance his own view on the relation of philosophic inquiry to law, and his theory of the nature of Halevi’s writing. What appears from this essay is the view that, while Halevi may have written “exoterically,” his purpose in doing so was different than, say, Maimonides.

Online:
Amazon [Persecution and the Art of Writing]
JSTOR [Individual Essay]