Commentary
[in chronological order]
Socrates and Socratic Philosophy in the Kuzari by Yehuda Halper
- Yehuda Halper, "Socrates and Socratic Philosophy in Judah Halevi's Kuzari," Jewish Quarterly, Fall, 2017.This provocative article addresses the role of Socrates in the Kuzari.
Wine and Poetry by Hillel Halkin
- Hillel Halkin, "Wine and Poetry: The Young Yehuda Halevi," Sephardic Horizons, vol. 3, issue 1, Winter/Spring 2013.Hillel Halkin, one of the leading contemporary writers on Jewish poetry and the biographer of Halevi, discusses Halevi’s youthful poetry in this article in Sephardic Horizons. Excerpt: “It happened in Andalusia, in the Muslim-ruled south of Spain.… More
Yehuda Halevi by Hillel Halkin
- Hillel Halkin, Yehuda Halevi, Schocken, 2010.Hillel Halkin’s long-awaited biography of Halevi does not disappoint. A wonderful work that captures both the heroism and profundity in Halevi’s life and thought. From the Publisher: A masterly biography of Yehuda Halevi, one of the greatest of… More
Yehuda Halevi: Poetry and Pilgrimage
- Joseph Yahalom, Yehuda Halevi: Poetry and Pilgrimage, trans. Gabriel Levin, Magnes Press, 2009.From the Publisher: “This book follows the life story of the greatest Hebrew poet of medieval times from his first publication in Christian Toledo to his heroic journey toward Zion from Muslim Spain. The description is based, for the first time, on the… More
The Song of the Distant Dove: Judah Halevi’s Pilgrimage
- Raymond P. Scheindlin, The Song of the Distant Dove: Judah Halevi’s Pilgrimage, Oxford Press, 2008.From the Publisher: “Judah Halevi (ca. 1075-1141) is the best known and most beloved of medieval Hebrew poets, partly because of his passionate poems of longing for the Land of Israel and partly because of the legend of his death as a martyr while… More
“Judah Halevi and Karaism”
- Daniel J. Lasker, “Judah Halevi and Karaism,” From Judah Hadassi to Elijah Bashyatchi, Brill Books, 2008, pp. 141-154.The Law of God by Rémi Brague
- Rémi Brague, The Law of God: The Philosophical History of an Idea, trans. L. G. Cochrane, University of Chicago Press, 2007.Brague’s masterful interpretation of the concept of the “divine law” in intellectual history sheds important light on Halevi. From the Publisher: The law of God: these words conjure an image of Moses breaking the tablets at Mount Sinai, but… More
“Ittisal and the Amir Ilahi: Divine Immanence and the World to Come in the Kuzari”
- Diana Lobel, “Ittisal and the Amir Ilahi: Divine Immanence and the World to Come in the Kuzari,” Esoteric and Exoteric Aspects in Judeo-Arabic Culture, eds. Benjamin H. Hary and Haggai Ben Shammai, Brill, 2006, pp. 131–173.From the Publisher: “This volume represents the interdisciplinary nature of Judeo-Arabic studies. There are articles on Jewish thought, philosophy and mysticism, language and linguistics, religious studies, intellectual and social history, law, biblical… More
“Three Theories of the Imagination in 12th Century Jewish Philosophy”
- Warren Z. Harvey, “Three Theories of the Imagination in 12th Century Jewish Philosophy,” Intellect et imagination dans la Philosophie Médiévale, ed. M. C. Pacheco and J. F. Meirinhos Brepols, 2006, pp. 287–302.“Taste and See That the Lord is Good: Halevi’s God Revisited”
- Diana Lobel, “Taste and See That the Lord is Good: Halevi's God Revisited,” Be’erot Yitzhaq: Studies in Memory of Isadore Twersky, ed. Jay M. Harris, Harvard University Press, 2005, pp. 161–178.From the Publisher: “Professor Isadore Twersky was one of the giants of the field of Jewish Studies. Among his many accomplishments was the supervision of over thirty-five dissertations in Jewish Studies, ranging chronologically from the tenth century… More
Major Work
Selected Poems in English Translation
- Medievalhebrewpoetry.org collection of Yehuda Halevi poems in English, available for free online.From Medieval Hebrew Poetry online, a selection of Yehuda Halevi’s most well-known poems translated into English, including “My Heart is in the East,” and “Jerusalem.”
The Kuzari: In Defense of the Despised Faith
- Judah Halevi, The Kuzari: In Defense of the Despised Faith, trans. N. Daniel Korobkin, ed. David Kahn, Feldheim Publishers, 2009.Halevi’s magnum opus: a poetic-philosophic defense of Judaism, the “despised religion.”
Poems from the Diwan
- Poems from the Diwan, ed. Gabriel Levin, Atlas: 2002.A selection of Halevi poems in English translation. From a review: Yehuda Halevi’s Poems from the Diwan is a rare and wonderful book. Gabriel Levin has selected some 60 poems from Halevi’s voluminous works, and transposed them into English poems… More
Multimedia
On Pilgrimage: Journeys with Judah Halevi, Ignatius Loyola, and Malcolm X
Video Lecture by Rev. Patrick J. Ryan, McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University.
Hillel Halkin on Halevi
Halevi Biographer Hillel Halkin discusses primary sources related to Halevi with scholars.
Yehuda Ha-Levi: Poet Philosopher of Sepharad
Video Lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson of Touro College South.