Diana Lobel. Between Mysticism and Philosophy: Sufi Language of Religious Experience in Judah Ha-Levi's Kuzari. Albany: SUNY Press, 2000. x, 277 pp.

The academic study of medieval Jewish philosophy began in the nineteenth century with a comparisons of classical Jewish texts (e.g., Saadia Gaon's Beliefs and Opinion; Judah Halevi's Kuzari; Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed; Gersonides' Wars of the Lord) with classical Islamic...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lasḳer, Daniʾel 1949- (Author)
Format: Electronic Review
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: University of Pennsylvania Press 2003
In: AJS review
Year: 2003, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 137-140
Further subjects:B Book review
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The academic study of medieval Jewish philosophy began in the nineteenth century with a comparisons of classical Jewish texts (e.g., Saadia Gaon's Beliefs and Opinion; Judah Halevi's Kuzari; Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed; Gersonides' Wars of the Lord) with classical Islamic texts (especially those of the Aristotelians al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes; and the anti-Aristotelian al-Ghazali). The possibility that Jewish thinkers took their inspiration from, or should be seen in the context of, Islamic thinkers (such a Shiءites or sufis) and Christian philosophers (especially scholastics vis-à-vis late medieval Jewish thought) was rarely entertained, partially because of lack of availability of texts and partially because of preconceived notions. The last few decades have seen a reversal of this trend: as the chances fade of finding more parallels in the well researched Aristotelian texts, more attention has been paid to alternate contexts of Jewish philosophy. This excellent book, a much revised and updated Harvard University dissertation (1995), is a very welcome addition to this growing tendency.
ISSN:1475-4541
Contains:Enthalten in: Association for Jewish Studies, AJS review
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0364009403361008