13 Facts About Yehuda Halevi

Yehuda Halevi was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in the Holy Land in 1141, at that point the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

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.

Convention suggests that Judah ben Shmuel Yehuda Halevi was born in Toledo, Spain in 1075.

Yehuda Halevi often described himself as coming from Christian territory.

Yehuda Halevi did compose a short elegy on the death of Isaac Alfasi, the head of the academy.

Related searches

Yehuda Halevi was educated in traditional Jewish scholarship, in Arabic literature, and in the Greek sciences and philosophy that were available in Arabic.

Yehuda Halevi's verse is distinguished by special attention to acoustic effect and wit.

Yehuda Halevi then went to Cairo, where he visited several dignitaries, including the Nagid of Egypt, Samuel ben Hanania, and his friend Halfon ben Nathaniel Halevi.

Legend has it that Yehuda Halevi was killed by an Arab horseman as he arrived in Jerusalem, with the first account found within a Hebrew miscellany published around 450 years after Yehuda Halevi's presumed death.

Manuscripts give some grounds for believing that Yehuda Halevi himself divided his oeuvre into sacred and profane poetry.

Yehuda Halevi's poetry includes verses relating to his vocational work as a physician.

Yehuda Halevi's attachment to the Jewish people is an equally significant theme: he identifies his sufferings and hopes with that of the broader group.

Yehuda Halevi believed that perfect Jewish life was possible only in the Land of Israel.