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Judah Halevi's Theory of Climates

2005; Indiana University Press; Volume: 5; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/ale.2005.0002

1553-3956

Alexander Altmann, Lenn J. Schramm,

Medieval and Classical Philosophy

Judah Halevi's Theory of Climates Alexander Altmann Editor's Prefatory Note. Alexander Altmann's "Torat ha-⊃aqlimim le-rabbi Yehudah ha-Levi," published during World War II in the short-lived Manchester periodical Melilah (1 [1944], 1-17), has justly been considered a classic. In a few pages it traces the history of an idea found in Judah Halevi's Kuzari back to its multifold remote sources, depicting a complex history stretching from Hippocrates to the twelfth century, passing by way of Hellenistic and Arabic science and philosophy and Iranian gnosticism. Since Melilah is not readily available, and since many potential readers were barred from acquainting themselves with Altmann's paper because it was in Hebrew, it seemed useful to make the paper available in English. Although some of the information and many of the references are naturally outdated today, Altmann's essential contentions and insights remain valid, and the article still stands as a model of its kind. This project was realized thanks to a grant generously offered by Eve née Altmann, Alexander Altmann's daughter, and her husband Yigal Yardeni (Israel) and by Rabbi Levi Meier (Los Angeles). I extend to them my most sincere and warmest thanks. The paper was translated by Mr. Lenn [End Page 215] Schramm with his usual care, skill, and competence. Altmann's rather meager bibliographical references have been completed by Schramm, Ms Keren Abou (Ben-Gurion University), and myself. I am very grateful to both of them. For filling out note 68 I am indebted to the erudition of Prof. B.R. Goldstein (University of Pittsburgh). With the exception of bibliographical information, our infrequent editorial interventions are included between square brackets. The page numbers of the original publication are indicated in the margin. No attempt has been made to update the paper or the references (with a few exceptions). Nor did we check the references systematically, although a few errors we happened to notice have been silently corrected. Translator's Prefatory Note When Alexander Altmann wrote this paper in 1944, the Arabic text of Judah Halevi's Kuzari had not yet been printed, compelling Altmann to rely on Judah Ibn Tibbon's Hebrew translation. The passages from the Kuzari quoted in this paper, then, are not taken from The Kuzari, An Argument for the Faith of Israel, trans. Hartwig Hirschfeld, introduction H. Slominsky (New York, 1964 [originally published 1905)], if only because it was done from the Arabic (using a manuscript of the work). Instead, they have all been translated from Judah Ibn Tibbon's Hebrew, although Hirschfeld was consulted. As a courtesy to the reader, however, parenthetical page reference to Hirschfeld's translation have been added to all references to the Kuzari. Similarly, quotations from Saadia Gaon's Emunot we-de⊂ot were rendered directly from Judah Ibn Tibbon's Hebrew version, used by Altmann, although both The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, trans. Samuel Rosenblatt (New Haven, 1948) and the [End Page 216] more accurate but incomplete translation by Alexander Altmann himself-Saadia Gaon, The Book of Doctrines and Beliefs. Abridged Edition With an Introduction and Notes by Alexander Altmann (Oxford, 1946 [numerous reprints])-were consulted. Abbreviations: HÜ = Moritz Steinschneider, Die hebraeischen Übersetzungen des Mittelalters und die Juden als Dolmetscher (Berlin, 1893). JQR = Jewish Quarterly Review MGWJ = Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums ZDMG = Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft [End Page 217] Judah Halevi's Theory of Climates It is well known that Judah Halevi held that the People and the Land were the two main conditions for prophecy: prophets arise only from the Jewish people and in the Land of Israel. Although this doctrine has some support in the midrashic literature,1 it is not the case that Jewish tradition was its only midwife. The prophetic visions we find in the Bible are not limited to the Land of Israel and the Jewish people. Halevi was aware of the thorny problems of his system and made serious attempts to solve them.2 It is clear from this that his ideas were influenced by external sources. H. A. Wolfson, in his article on the prophetic theories of Halevi and Maimonides, asked what Judah Halevi was...