"The Ornament of the World"

The Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal documents the transition in medieval Iberia from a multi-cultural society to a repressive culture that persecuted all but the most accepted Catholics. Beginning in the tenth century, small Islamic states provided an environment where both Jews and Christians had unusual rights to worship and to follow intellectual pursuits of their own choosing. And for a time, the re-conquering Christian kings established similarly tolerant states where Muslims and Jews enjoyed unusual rights. These rights were unusual in medieval times -- though of course not comparable to the rights of minorities in modern democracies.

Menocal concentrates on the achievements of the three communities in establishing written vernacular languages, preserving and disseminating Greek learning, advancing scientific and philosophic knowledge, and developing literary forms in Castilian, Arabic, and Hebrew. I find particularly interesting her exploration of the combination of secular and religious thought that developed in both Christian and Muslim enclaves, and subsequently was destroyed by religious fanaticism.

She writes, for example, of the Jews of Cordova in the twelfth century:

"The Jews understood themselves to be Andalusians and Cordobans, much as the German Jews of the late-nineteenth century -- Marx and Freud most prominent among them -- considered themselves Germans, or the American Jews in the second half of the twentieth century, who helped define the intellectual and literary qualities of their time, never thought twice about calling themselves Americans. But unlike many later European and American Jews, the Andalusian Jews had not had to abandon their orthodoxy to be fully a part of the body politic and culture of their place and time. The Jews of al-Andalus wre able to openly observe and eventually enrich their Judaic and Hebrew heritage and at the same time fully participat in the general cultural and intellectual scene. They could be the Cardozas and the Trillins [I fear that she means Lionel, not Calvin Trillin] and the Salks of their times because they were citizens of a relilgious polity -- or tather, of this particular religious polity. The Umayyads ... had created a universe of Musllims where piety and observance were not seen as inimical to an intellectual and 'secular' life and society." (p. 86-87)

She documents this duality of religious and secular thought and intellectual activity, as well as the political struggles between Islamic groups with different commitments to tolerance or intolerance, and then the fossilization of Christian thought that ended in the expulsion of Jews and Muslims and the totalitarian rule of the Inquisition. "As time went by," she wrote, "there was a growning sense of the showdown between faith and reason, to put the matter at its most blunt and simplistic..." (p. 207)

Judah Halevi, whom I wrote about a few days ago, was an important focus for some of her thoughts, as he participated in the most idealized environment for the combination of faith and philosophy, and wrote The Kuzari as a dialog exploring where this duality could lead. Then, of course, he concluded that his religious commitment could only require him to leave the open atmosphere of his home, which he found corrupting, and seek a different world by going to Jerusalem.

Menocal's book contains much more than I can possibly say here. The history of Convivencia (the name often given to the tolerant and open atmosphere of medieval Iberia, which disappeared when Ferdinand and Isabella created a united, monolithic Spain) is fascinating in its own right, not just because of its parallels to modern times, including the vexing question of Christianity vs. Islam or of the role of Jews in a non-Jewish society.

"Yehuda Halevi" by Hillel Halkin

Hillel Halkin's portrait of medieval poet Yehuda Halevi* depicts a deeply religious man. Halkin offers religious motives (as well as others) for his own interest in Halevi as well. Halkin presents an introduction to Halevi's poetry in his connection with the autobiography of the poet. He describes the situation of Jews in Muslim Spain in Halevi's lifetime. He gives an interpretation of Halevi's famous work The Kuzari -- "a defense of Judaism written in the form of a dialogue between a Khazar king and the rabbi who converts him." Altogether, I found the book challenging but very interesting, especially the study of the end of the poet's life.

Halevi's extraordinary commitment to traveling to Jerusalem, Halkin points out, was one of the signs of Halevi's faith. In around 1140, at close to 70 years old, Halevi left a safe life as a highly admired poet in the most sophisticated and luxurious environment available in his time. He chose to make the pilgrimage about which he had written. The long sea voyage to the east was arduous even if the traveler avoided pirates and storms. As he traveled, Halevi wrote a number of poems about his sea voyage.

Jerusalem, Halevi's destination, was ruled by brutal Crusaders, making the final steps of the voyage totally dangerous for a Jewish pilgrim. Halkin uses letters and documents from the Cairo Geniza to detail the final days and the death of Halevi in or near Jerusalem, as well as explaining Halevi's interpretation of Jewish tradition and law to show why he felt that he and his fellow Jews had an obligation to go there. Halkin also presents a brief overview of the influence Halevi had on subsequent Jewish writers down to our own day and to modern Zionism.

Halevi's poetry, Halkin points out, included both secular and religious poetry. While some authors stress the secular side of Jewish life in medieval Spain, Halkin stresses the dualism of this era. He writes:

"On the whole, secularism did not mean to Hebrew poets of Halevi's age... what it menas today. It implied not a rejection of religion, but the acceptance of another, parallel domanin of experience and an exploration of the tensions between the two. These tensions were considered natural because the human life was viewed dualistically, as the union of a mortal body and an immortal soul that collaborated at times and were in conflict at others. Each had its claims and responsibilities, and a poet cold, at different moments, take the side of either or both." (p. 101)

Halevi innovated poetic forms, introducing certain elements and themes from Arab poetry into both his religious and his secular works. Religious poetry was intended to be integrated into worship and the synagogue liturgy; secular poetry, whatever its subject matter, was not so intended. Dualism went further than that. The contrast to modern views is made most vividly.

*Hillel Halkin, Yehuda Halevi, Nextbook/Schocken, 2010

Jerusalem Day (May 31, 2011)

The Israelis celebrate their capital and its long historical significance on May 31 this year. To celebrate, here is the oldest Zionist poem by Judah Halevi, who probably died soon after arriving in Jerusalem in the twelfth century.

My Heart is in the East by Judah Halevi
My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west--
How can I find savor in food? How shall it be sweet to me?
How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yet
Zion lies beneath the fetter of Edom, and I in Arab chains?
A light thing would it seem to me to leave all the good things of Spain--
Seeing how precious in mine eyes to behold the dust of the desolate sanctuary

UPDATE: The Israelis have a lot of controversy over Jerusalem Day, based of course in the controversy over Jerusalem itself. See, for example,
Jerusalem Day celebrations will not cover up the city's rot and discrimination: Jerusalem Day is an 'artificial celebration'; Jerusalem is the most ultra-Orthodox city, the most Arab, plagued by negative migration. By Yossi Sarid