Kuzari Book

About the Book

Rebbi Yehuda Halevi 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 - The Kuzari Book

It is the philosophical work of Rebbi Yehuda Halevi [Riha"l], written in the year 1139 in Jewish Arabic. The Jewish sage Rebbi Yehuda Ben Tibbon translated this book from Arabic to Hebrew. The first Hebrew of the book was called "The Kuzari Book" and thus acquired its famous name. The book is written in the form of a conversation between the king of the Khazars and a Jewish sage about the foundations of Judaism. The story of the voluntary conversion of the Khazars several generations earlier serves the author as a background and basis for the character of a Khazar king. The Kuzari book is considered one of the pillars of Jewish philosophy in particular, and of Jewish thought in general.

The book, which consists of five parts, is written in five essays. It describes and protects the tenets of the Jewish faith, at a time when Judaism is between the Christian hammer and the Muslim anvil, and in an attack of both parts of philosophy and on the part of the Karaites [Group of Jews who left Judaism who refused to follow the Sages]. The book makes external-frame use of the Platonic methodology of dialogue, with a slightly different interpretation of the concept of the dialogue, and from an internal-perceptual point of view Rebbi Yehuda Halevi who often uses Aristotelian conceptions, despite his principled opposition to them, to illustrate the ideas he presents.

The book opens with the dream of a Kuzor king, in which he sees an angel informing him: "Your intention is desirable, but the deed is not desirable." This dream comes back to him several times. Since the king maintains the Khazar religion in its entirety, he understands that he will have to look for the desired deed elsewhere. He first met with non -Jewish philosopher. King Kuzor agrees with the philosopher's logical and consistent words but they contradict the dream words, as the king seeks the desired deed. While the philosopher claims that God has no will and does not oversee human beings of the other religions, the king precedes the encounter with the Christian. The Christian answers do not settle on his heart, for they do not depend on logic and wisdom, and they are worthy of one who has been educated by them since childhood or foresaw in his eyes the same signs. In his encounter with the Muslim sage, he does not accept the possibility of the existence of a universal religion written in a national language. Having no choice, and seeing that the major religions nurture from it. He examines Judaism - the "despicable religion" - and meets with a Jewish Rebbi. He finds meaning in his words and often inquires and asks him questions. Following this, the king and all his people are converted. The king continues to discuss with the Rebbi even after his conversion.

The Kuzair argument is a famous Jewish example of an attempt to base the righteousness of religion through tradition on an experience of revelation or a miracle experience that did occur.