Toward a New Understanding of Judah Halevi's "Kuzari" Author(s): Michael S. Berger Reviewed work(s): Source: The Journal of Religion, Vol. 72, No. 2 (Apr., 1992), pp. 210-228 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1205150 . Accessed: 04/01/2012 08:43 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Religion. http://www.jstor.org Toward a New Understanding of Judah Halevi's Kuzari Michael S. Berger / Bronx, New York Judah Halevi, a noted poet, philosopher, and physician of medieval Spanish Jewry, continues to be of both scholarly and lay interest. His poetry, included in the liturgy of severalJewish communities, still inspires readers in its simplicity and emotional force. His theological masterpiece, the Kuzari, composed in 1140, possibly shares the distinction (along with Maimonides' Guidefor the Perplexed, written roughly fifty years later) of being the most widely read and influential work in medieval Jewish thought. Set in the legendary land of the Khazars, the King, on a spiritual quest, learns aboutJudaism from a Rabbi, and the dialogue between them constitutes the bulk of the book.