The Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel [Paperback]

Jehuda Halevi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1987

The Kuzari is one of the basic books of Jewish literature, a required text in the library of every educated Jew--and of every educated Christian who would understand the religion of Israel. The author, foremost poet and thinker of the Jewish Middle Ages, offers clear and usable delineations of the religion of Israel. In the easy style of a Platonic dialogue, he presents first a critique of Christianity and Islam, and then explores the nature of Israel's first religious faculty, the question of the "chosen" people, the implications of a "minority religion." Against those who accommodate to prevailing philosophical trends, Judah Halevi is blunt, frank and uncompromising in his discourse on the central teachings of Judaism: revelation, prophecy, the laws, the Holy Land, and the role of the Jewish people as spokesman for religious faith.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"We can still learn much from Judah Halevi... his serene allegiance to history and the long-range forces of destiny high above the immediate brute realities and implacable forces of nature. His exposition of powerlessness as a superior counterpart to the forces of state supremacy..."
--Salo Baron

"In defending Judaism... against the philosophers, he was conscious of defending morality itself and therewith the cause, not only of Judaism, but of mankind at large."
--Leo Strauss

About the Author

Judah Halevi (born circa 1080) is the greatest poet and one of the profoundest thinkers Judaism has had since the closing of the canon. He plumbed the depths in religion and reflection on history, and he made claims for Israel so strange and inordinate, that he would be merely an anomaly unless profoundly related to his time and viewed centrally from that history and destiny in which he was rooted and of which he is clearly the deepest expression and interpretation. The overshadowing event of his time was the struggle of Christian and Moslem for Spain; and, farther afield, the mastery of the Holy Land. In Spain, the community of Israel was ground between upper and nether millstones; and in Palestine, the last spark of hope seemed finally extinguished with the advent of the Crusaders. Israel appeared to be doomed. Judah Halevi's poetry and prose are the response evoked by that world situation.
--from the Introduction by Henry Slonimsky

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Schocken (September 13, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805200754
• ISBN-13: 978-0805200751
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a classic, but definitely preaching to the converted, November 15, 2004

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel (Paperback)

This book was written as a kind of catechism to persuade Jews to stay with their faith rather than converting to Islam or Christianity. I think Jews should read it as a historical document, to understand how our ancestors explained Judaism to each other.

Halevi begins by dismissing Christianity and Islam in just a few pages, pointing out that despite their alleged noble intentions, "vie with each other in committing murders, believing that this is a most pious work and brings them nearer to God." (p. 39) Christian theology is rejected in just a paragraph as illogical (p. 42), while Islam is flawed because "as long as it is written in Arabic, a non-Arab . . . cannot perceive its miraculous character." (p. 43) I doubt that these arguments would persuade a Christian or Muslim- but my suspicion is that this book was written entirely for people like me (i.e. Jews predisposed to agree).

By contrast, Judaism is true because various miracles (e.g. the relevation at Sinai, the giving of Manna to the Hebrews, the parting of the Red Sea) "took place in the presence of great multitudes" (id.), unlike the relevations described in other religions. In other words, if the Torah says X happened in front of thousands of people, the Torah must be correct because our ancestors would not have been persuaded to believe such events (unlike relevation to just one person) if they did not happen. Is Halevi right? I suspect the answer depends on how gullible you think our ancestors were, and how accurately you think a tradition can be handed down.

Halevi vigorously defends rabbinic tradition against the literalist Karaite sect, citing the numerous ambiguities in the Torah (pp. 166-68). In other words, because the Torah is ambiguous, traditional interpretations of the Torah must be correct, or at least necessary to ensure some uniformity of practice. By contrast, Karaism ensures that "in one house [there might be] ten persons with as many different opinions."(p. 177). (Of course, some might say that this is still the case among Jews despite the decline of Karaism).

Halevi goes beyond his pragmatic attack on Karaism, and seems to imply that the whole of Jewish tradition is uninterrupted- and makes some effort to address evidence that seems to contradict this view. For example, the Book of Nehemiah apparently implies that when rebuilding the Second Temple, Jews were ignorant of the laws of Succot until Ezra informed them of same. (See Nehemiah 8:14). Halevi takes on this problem by suggesting that Jews could not possibly have forgotten such things, because they were apparently aware of other laws- in other words, that because our ancestors knew law X, they must have also known law Y (pp. 184-5). As for the Tanach's apparent suggestion that the people had forgotten Succot, Halevi explains that "the whole people gave attention to them [the laws] . . . The erudite were not unacquainted with the details of the law..." (p. 186). Halevi's interpretation would seem to be contradicted by the Tanach's statement that "the Israelites had not done so from the day of Joshua son of Nun to that day" (Neh. 8:17) - a passage that Halevi (at least according to this translation) seems to avoid. (This is not to say that there are not plausible traditional interpretations of this passage- just that Halevi doesn't completely cover the issue).

Halevi vigorously defends the Mishnah against Karaite attacks, stating that its lucidity "is so striking that every one who looks at it with genuine scrutiny must be aware that mortal man is incapable of composing such a work without divine assistance" (p. 191), and if rabbinic interpretations of the Torah appear not to make sense, "they employ secret methods of interpretation which we are unable to discern" (p. 193).

A few other random thoughts:

1. Halevi explains the various names of God- specifically suggesting that the four-letter Tetragrammaton means "I am that I am, the existing one, existing for you wherever you seek [God]." (p. 202).

2. He defines Divine holiness as "the spirtual, which never assumes a corporeal form, and which nothing concrete can possibly resemble." (p. 203).

3. Halevi's work illustrates how different medieval thinkers were in their attitudes towards women : he states that "A eunuch is of weaker intelligence than a woman; both lack the beard and good judgment." (p. 232).

4. Halevi wisely emphasizes the importance of good judgment in worldly affairs, stating that trusting God is a fine thing, "but this argument should not prevent thee to take the best counsel, to prepare weapons against thy enemy, and food for hunger, as soon as thou art aware that both thy safety and destruction depend upon intermediary causes" (p. 285), because to Court danger violates the Torah's maxim: "You shall not tempt the Lord" (p. 286, citing Deut. 6:16). So don't behave foolishly and hope God will bail you out!

I am not sure that Halevi was a great philosopher- but at least, he was a vigorous and effective popularizer of Judaism.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To know Jewish thought you must know this work, October 14, 2004

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel (Paperback)

This work is one of the pillars of Jewish thought. It provides the basic religious argument for the choseness of Israel, and the wisdom of choosing the Jewish way of life. Following its argument one comes to understand one of the fundamental ways Jews see themselves and their own tradition.
It is a book of Argument and Reason for the Jewish Faith and way of life.