Also known as:
Abū'l-Ḥasan ibn al-Lēwī;
Yehuda ben Shmuel Halevi
JUDAH LEVITA (Yĕhûdhâh ben Šemû'ēl ha-Lēwî, in Arabic Abū'l-Ḥasan b. al-Lēwî). - Jewish poet and apologist, b. in 1070 (or 1075) at Tudela. He later lived in Toledo and elsewhere in Spain. He had as friends many poets and men of letters, among them Môšeh ibn 'Ezra', and many influential patrons.
His youthful poems are bacchic, amatory, floral, riddles; in his mature years he wrote poems of religious and moral content, some pervaded with sorrow for the fate of his people. As for form, he came under the influence of contemporary Arabic poetry, but was distinguished from it by greater composure. Famous is his song for Zion, the Sionide. The rise of the pseudo-messiah Môšeh Dera' aroused many satirical jests on the part of Muslims. To demonstrate the superiority of biblical Revelation over Neoplatonism and Aristotelianism, G. composed the dialogue hak-Kûzâri ("The Khazar"), whose Arabic title was: Kitâb al-hugâh wa 'd-dalîl fî naṣr ad-dîn ad-dalîl ("Book of the proof and the foundation in defense of the despised religion"), a work of theological Zionism. The king of the Khazars acknowledges the superiority of the Jewish religion. Overcome by nostalgia for Zion, G. undertakes the journey toward the Holy Land. The fruit of the journey are the poems on the visions of Egypt and the sea songs. Did he reach Palestine? Where and when did he die? Nothing is certain.
Bibliography5 worksThe best edition of the poems was edited by H. Brody, Dîvân des Abû'l-Hasan Jehûda ha-Lêvi, 4 vols., Berlin 1901-30. Cf. also: J. Gordon, Je
BIBL.: The best edition of the poems was edited by H. Brody, Dîvân des Abû'l-Hasan Jehûda ha-Lêvi, 4 vols., Berlin 1901-30. Cf. also: J. Gordon, Jehûda Halevs, in Enc. Jud., VIII, coll. 963-99 (with abundant bibl.); H. Schirmann, Ephû' nôlâdh J. hal-Lêvi, in Tarbîs, 10 (1939), pp. 237-39; J. Millis Vallicrosa, Poesia sagrada hebraicoespañola, Madrid-Barcelona, 1940, p. 97; id., Jehûda ha-Lêvi como poeta y apologista, ibid. 1947; G. Vajda, Introduction à la pensée juive du moyen âge, Paris 1947, pp. 110-18, 226.
Zolli, Eugenio. “Giuda Levita (Jéhâdhâh Ben ŠEmû'El Hal-Lêvi, in arabo abû'l-hasan b. al-lêvi).” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VI, coll. 692–693. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951. https://azioneromana.com/article/giuda-levita-jehadhah-ben-semu-el-hal-levi-in-arabo-abu-l-hasan-b-al-levi.
MLA
Zolli, Eugenio. “Giuda Levita (Jéhâdhâh Ben ŠEmû'El Hal-Lêvi, in arabo abû'l-hasan b. al-lêvi).” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VI, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951, coll. 692–693. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/giuda-levita-jehadhah-ben-semu-el-hal-levi-in-arabo-abu-l-hasan-b-al-levi.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec6_giuda_levita_jehadhah_ben_semu,
author = {Zolli, Eugenio},
title = {Giuda Levita (Jéhâdhâh Ben ŠEmû'El Hal-Lêvi, in arabo abû'l-hasan b. al-lêvi)},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VI},
pages = {692--693},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1951},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/giuda-levita-jehadhah-ben-semu-el-hal-levi-in-arabo-abu-l-hasan-b-al-levi}
}
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