Rabbi Korobkin of OU West Coast Translates and Edits New Kuzari Edition

12 Jan 2009

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, Director of OU’s West Coast Department of Community and Synagogue Services, is the translator and editor of the newly-issued Feldheim edition of the Kuzari. This new Feldheim edition is a revision of the original version of 1998, distributed by another publisher.

The Kuzari is the philosophical treatise written by the Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Judah Ha-Levi, meant to refute arguments against the Jewish religion.

As Feldheim’s own website explains, “Take a front seat in the debate arena as the sharpest minds debate on the fundamentals of religion, faith, and a diverse range of basic Jewish concepts. It took the esteemed 12-century sage, Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Levi twenty years to complete this work. In its unique question-and-answer format, it records an ongoing dialogue between the 8th- century king of the Khazars and a rabbi. The depth and scope of the ideas discussed in this book are nothing short of brilliant, and the reader cannot help but be awed by the authoritative, wide-ranging virtuosity of Rabbi Ha-Levi as ‘the rabbi’ in the debate confidently repudiates the arguments of Judaism’s detractors and demonstrates the superiority of Torah over any other religion or belief system.”

Rabbi Korobkin declared, “I’m delighted that this edition is being received so well and hope that it will increase the study of this very important and holy work. As a member of the OU’s Community and Synagogue Services Department, I look forward to visiting many OU shuls and communities and sharing Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi’s wisdom with them.”

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union, declared, “The Orthodox Union’s Rabbi Korobkin has just published an expanded version of his translation and commentary on the Kuzari. It is an excellent work, and will be the standard scholarly edition of the Kuzari in English. I look forward to again studying this important and favorite sacred book, this time with the guidance and additional insights of Rav Daniel.”

The new edition, five years in the making, includes several changes and updates, such as a completely vowelized Ibn Tibon Hebrew text on the same page as the English translation; dozens of new footnotes; an entirely new introduction which frames Rav Halevi’s unique religious philosophy and compares and contrasts it with the Rambam’s; updated appendices with substantial changes especially to the appendix on the halachic date line and the Chisdai letters; and a substantially expanded comprehensive index.

The book is available at all major Judaica outlets, as well as www.feldheim.com and www.amazon.com. It lists for 39.99.