The Kuzari

The definitive translation of a classic text of medieval Jewish thought

Considered the crowning intellectual achievement of a renowned medieval Jewish poet, The Kuzari stages a fictional dialogue between a Jewish sage and the king of the central Asian Khazars. Comprising five treatises, it constructs a systematic defense of the truth of Judaism against the criticisms and attacks leveled from four different directions: proponents of Aristotelian philosophy, Christianity, Islam, and non-rabbinic Karaite Judaism. By focusing on axial moments in the Jewish narrative, considered empirically true because of the large number of witnesses to these events, Halevi innovates the concept of a Divine Order as the central principle of Judaism, which removes the Jewish people from the normal restraints of nature and history.

This translation, the first from the original Judaeo-Arabic in 120 years, features an introduction that traces the life, thought, and impact of this remarkable thinker; detailed notes that provide historical and linguistic context; and an exploration of the text’s enduring influence on Jewish thought and culture.