Yehuda Halevy, religious Zionist (Posted on this blog on April 14, 2009.)
The great English Jewish poet Yehuda Halevi (1075-1141) a lyrical flight, one of the brightest figures of the so-called Golden Age of English.
The "prince of the Hebrew poets, was born in Tudela or Toledo.
Menéndez y Pelayo, in his "literary criticism", states: "The first known name Castilian poet (who knew?) Is probably the lofty Hebrew poet Yehuda Halevi, who established that into verse not only in their language but in Arabic and the vernacular of Christians. I have not seen yet his songs whole Castilian verse, for his hearty "Diwan" has never been fully published, but partial translations and extracts from it have been not uncommon find words and even whole verses castellanos strangely mixed with the Hebrew text. Every reason to believe that in the most remote origins of English poetry have influenced the Hebrews. "
His" Kuzari "has been considered by Charles Mopsik one of the first approaches in the history of philosophical concern in medieval Judaism." The Yehuda Halevi's philosophical concern was to re-evaluate the universality of the uniqueness of Israel among the nations. I tried to show the harmony of Judaism with reason, against Christianity, Islam, paganism and pure philosophy. "Zohar
And drank of his writings, along with others such as Kabbalistic itself or those of Maimonides.
The fighting between Christians and Moors in Spain at that time were particularly bloody. It echoed in his poetry of it, called the Moors "Philistines" (ie, Palestinians, "Philistines"), and Christians, "Edom." "The Philistines are joined, the Edomites beat / on horses, on the cars / and us, we bear your name as a powerful fortress."
The growing importance of the Christians and the decline of Islam was to Halevi, as for others, a sign of the coming of the Messiah. Its more than three hundred
liturgical poems were incorporated in large part to the Jewish prayer book, until today.
"When God created the soul of Halevi, was so taken by its exquisite beauty that he could not hold back and kissed her," wrote Heinrich Heine.
But it was also a poet profane.
In "The pen of the writer":
How is thin, thin, smooth,
and dumb, and when he speaks forcefully kills
men
silent and empty blood from his mouth idols.
In "is the mirror"
An object that contains no limit
is so small that you take it in your hand
And you can not have everything in it
unless you look eye to eye
One day with at least 65 years old, decides he can not Jerusalem die without knowing. Moreover, the fate of Israel is found only on their land. It was a religious Zionist exceptional caliber. One people, one earth. Then composed his most beautiful poems "Zion", in reference to Zion. Liquid
business, and part of Israel (at the time of the First Crusade), without his wife and children. His journey through Spain, before embarking, is a triumphal march. The heads of the Jewish community in the towns they passed, they offered their samples of great admiration. I was not alone with him other English Jews, who shared his enthusiasm Zionist.
stops in Egypt, in Cairo and Alexandria. Egyptian Jews intend to remain with them. He wrote several poems in his "Egyptian period." (Halevi believed, it seems, only in verse.) One, "Praise to Egypt," "response to someone who complained that he had gone to Egypt when his aim was to Eretz Israel":
only commend Egypt to another country!
Here! The word Elohim was a compliment,
planted a vineyard here was chosen so precious grapes
Here (...)
down the glory of Elohim
surrounded by a pillar of fire, smoke and haze. (...)
Here was fulfilled the sacrifice to Adonai
and was poured the blood of the Alliance ... Did
Yehuda, the Sephardic, with Jerusalem?
On the one hand, it is estimated that no, as Moses died (Halevi, had died in Alexandria) before reaching the Promised Land.
But another tradition believes that yes, even that came when the Crusaders were landing, "in their white sails ships." "Yehuda Halevi, includes, surprisingly, the birth of the first shields taps, winged deer, lions, unicorns, mermaids and white swans, enamelled metal shields gleaming square or heart shaped." (This is the great birth of the European nobility, as know.)
going to pray at the Wailing Wall. Then, an Arab Muslim killed him.
In a long poem in honor of Halevi, Heine account:
He was there, singing,
as a prophet of old ...
but a Saracen knight going down that road
bright
brandishing his spear plunged into his chest
the poor old man who sang
I leave you with this verse from one of his love poems:
Oh, dear!, through your flesh I shall feel your bones
to recognize you on the Day of Resurrection.
be gloomy, but I find beautiful, unfathomable. Ah, the "Love dust" of Quevedo ...
(Note: the poems from "Le Diwan" by Yehuda Halevi, translation and presentation of Yaacov Arroche and Joseph G. Valensi, Éditions de l'éclat, Montpellier, 1988. Is a bilingual edition, in Hebrew and French, referring to Brody. The English version, from French is mine.)