Sepher ha-Kuzari [philosophy]. Translated from Arabic to Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon. With commentary “Kol Yehudah” by Judah Moscato

HALEVI, JUDAH

Giovanni di Gara

Venice

1594

Third edition. First edition with commentary. Title within garlanded architectural arch. On title page, signature of former owner, “N. Ellinger, Mayence.”

Vinograd, Venice 794; Habermann, di Gara 144; Adams J-401

Written in the form of a Socratic dialogue, Halevi develops a philosophy of history in an attempt to show the insufficiency of theological conclusions arrived at by rationalistic means. His underlying principle is that God cannot be found or conceived by reason, but rather by an intuition peculiar to Semitic peoples. It is this divine intuition (“al-amr al-ilahi” in the Arabic original or “ha-inyan ha-Elo-hi” in Tibbonide Hebrew) which may bring one to the highest spiritual level, that is, prophecy. See D. Lobel, Between Mysticism and Philosophy (2000); M. Waxman, A History of Jewish Literature, Vol. I, pp. 333-39