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Song of the Distant Dove - Judah Halevi's Pilgrimage (Hardcover)
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Song of the Distant Dove - Judah Halevi's Pilgrimage (Hardcover)
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Judah Halevi (ca. 1075-1141) is the best known and most beloved of
medieval Hebrew poets, partly because of his passionate poems of
longing for the Land of Israel and partly because of the legend of
his death as a martyr while reciting his Ode to Zion at the gates
of Jerusalem. He was also one of the premier theologians of
medieval Judaism, having written a treatise on the meaning of
Judaism that is still studied and venerated by traditional
Jews.
As a member of the wealthy Jewish elite of medieval Spain, Halevi
enjoyed the material pleasures available to the upper classes.
Alongside his sacred poetry, he wrote verses about youthful
romance, wine songs, and odes to his friends. In midlife, Halevi
turned more seriously to religion, eventually abandoning his family
and community with hopes of ending his life as a pilgrim in the
land of Israel.
Miraculously, a number of letters in Arabic were discovered about
fifty years ago, some written by Halevi, some written to Halevi,
and yet others written about Halevi by his friends in Egypt. These
letters preserve a vivid record of Halevi's travels as a pilgrim
and of the last months of his life. Raymond Scheindlin has written
the first book-length treatment of Halevi's pilgrimage in any
language. He tells the story of Halevi's journey through selections
from these revealing sources and explores its meaning through
discussions of his stirring poetry, presented here in new verse
translations with full commentary.
In Hebrew verse of unparalleled beauty, Halevi salutes the Holy
Land; he argues with friends about his intentions; he sets out his
fantasy of crossing the ocean, of walking the hills and valleys of
the Land of Israel, and ofdying and mingling his bones with its
soil and stones. He even confides his secret fears and
uncertainties, his longing for his family, and his fear of death at
sea. With his consummate skill as a translator of Hebrew poetry and
his mastery of Judeo-Arabic culture, Scheindlin provides fresh
insights into the literary, religious, and historical facets of
Halevi's captivating poetry and fateful journey.
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