Judah Halevi: A Life of Poetry

In this little volume Joseph Yahalom applies the considerable biographical information we have on R. Judah Halevi to shed light on his poetry, while also drawing on the latter to gain insights into the poet’s life. Halevi’s diwan was edited a number of times after his death; extracting the biographical information requires apprehending how each of the editors approached his task, and what he added and eliminated. Yahalom masters his sources and makes numerous illuminating comments. Discussing the poems in their biographical contexts requires ordering them chronologically, at least tentatively. Yahalom supposes that his readers are (almost) as erudite as he is himself and does not waste time on introductions and explanations. This makes the reading of this book a bit difficult for the uninitiated, but at the same time whets our appetite to get deeper into Judah Halevy’s touching poetry, with its personal and collective emotions. - Aleph. Historical Studies in Science & Judaism, 10 January 2010