Does God Prefer the Powerful? Reforming the King in Judah Halevi's Kuzari
The Kuzari is traditionally regarded as a work describing the process by which a pagan Khazar king faithfully converts to Judaism. This article offers a new interpretation, which views the King as a skeptical convert who represents an archetype of political leadership driven by the desire for power...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Mohr Siebeck
[2021]
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| In: |
Jewish studies quarterly
Year: 2021, Volume: 28, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-20 |
| Further subjects: | B
Ethics
B Plato B medieval Jewish philosophy B Republic |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The Kuzari is traditionally regarded as a work describing the process by which a pagan Khazar king faithfully converts to Judaism. This article offers a new interpretation, which views the King as a skeptical convert who represents an archetype of political leadership driven by the desire for power and not by knowledge or ethics. I contend that the argument put forward by the character of the Rabbi constitutes a kind of »four-step therapy« program, structured to educate the king about why he should be concerned with a just and ethical religion and not just a religion that wields power. |
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| ISSN: | 1868-6788 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Jewish studies quarterly
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1628/jsq-2021-0002 |