Between Hebrew and Arabic Poetry: Studies in Spanish Medieval Hebrew Poetry

532 Pages·2010·4.415 MB·English

by  Yosef Tobi

Between Hebrew and Arabic Poetry
Medieval and Renaissance
Authors and Texts
Editor-in-Chief
Francis G. Gentry
Emeritus Professor of German, Penn State University
Editorial Board
Teodolinda Barolini, Columbia University
Cynthia Brown, University of California, Santa Barbara
Marina Brownlee, Princeton University
Keith Busby, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Craig Kallendorf, Texas A&M University
Alastair Minnis, Yale University
Brian Murdoch, Stirling University
Jan Ziolkowski, Harvard University and Dumbarton Oaks Research
Library and Collection
VOLUME 5
Between Hebrew and
Arabic Poetry
Studies in Spanish Medieval Hebrew Poetry
By
Yosef Tobi
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2010
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tobi, Joseph.
Between Hebrew and Arabic poetry : studies in Spanish medieval Hebrew poetry / by
Yosef Tobi.
p. cm. — (Medieval and Renaissance authors and texts)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18499-2 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Hebrew poetry, Medieval—Spain—
Andalusia—History and criticism. 2. Arabic poetry—Spain—Andalusia—History and
criticism. 3. Hebrew poetry, Medieval—Arab influences. I. Title. II. Series.
PJ5023.T625 2010
892.4’1099468—dc22
2010015152
ISSN 0925-7683
ISBN 978 90 04 18499 2
Editor of the English Translation, David Ben-Abraham.
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
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printed in the netherlands
contents v
CONTENTS
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
Chapter One
Secular Hebrew Poetry in Spain as Courtly Poetry: Is It In-
deed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter Two
The Secular Hebrew Poet as Culture Hero in the Middle Ages 25
PART TWO
GENRES AND THEMES
Chapter Three
The Land of Israel and the National Theme in Hebrew Poetry
from Sa(cid:9)adia Gaon to Šemuel Ha-Nagid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter Four
The Religious Element in the War Poems of Šemuel Ha-Nagid
and in the Arabic Panegyrics in Andalusia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Chapter Five
Love in Hebrew Secular Poetry in the Setting of Medieval Ara-
bic Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Chapter Six
Music and Musical Instruments in Spanish Medieval Hebrew
Poetry: The Poem of Yosef Ibn (cid:10)addīq (Justo) in Praise of
Yi(cid:12)(cid:13)aq ibn Barun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
vi contents
Chapter Seven
The Chase as an Allegory for the Wrong and Sufferings in the
World as Found in Ta(cid:13)kemoni by Yehuda Al(cid:13)arizi against the
Background of Arabic Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
PART THREE
POETRY AND WISDOM
Chapter Eight
The Beloved Woman as a Metaphor for Divine Wisdom in the
Poems of Šelomo ibn Gabirol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Chapter Nine
Šelomo Ibn Gabirol: He That, From His Youth, Chose Wisdom 261
Chapter Ten
Body and Soul in Spanish Hebrew Poetry against the Back-
ground of Muslim-Arabic Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Chapter Eleven
The Hebrew Transcription of Risālat al-(cid:4)ātimī: A comparative
study between sayings attributed to Aristotle and poetic verses
attributed to Mutanabbī (Cambridge, T.S., Arabic, 45.2) . . . . . 321
PART FOUR
ARABIC RHETORIC AND POETRY
IN MEDIEVAL HEBREW POETRY
Chapter Twelve
Preliminary Study in (cid:4)ilyat al-Mu(cid:6)ā(cid:7)ara [(cid:15)M] by Abū (cid:9)Alī
Mu(cid:13)ammad al-(cid:15)ātimī: The ‘Lost’ Source of Moše Ibn Ezra for
His Kitāb al-Mu(cid:6)ā(cid:7)ara wa-al-Mudhākara [KMM] . . . . . . . . . . 355
Chapter Thirteen
Yehuda Ha-Levi’s Hebrew Translations of Arabic Poems . . . . . 369
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PART FIVE
CRITICISM OF VERSE
Chapter Fourteen
Yehuda Ha-Levi’s Attitude Toward Arabic and Hebrew Secular
Poetry and Literature in the Kuzari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Chapter Fifteen
Maimonides’ Attitude towards Secular Poetry, Secular Arab
and Hebrew Literature, Liturgical Poetry, and towards Their
Cultural Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Chapter Sixteen
Šem (cid:19)ov Ibn Falaqera’s Critique of Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
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