Kuzari, philosophical work on the principles of the Jewish faith, by R. Yehudah HaLevi, translated from Judeo-Arabic by R. Yehudah ibn Tibbon. Venice: Meir son of Yaakov Frantz, 1547. Second edition.

Second edition of Kuzari, a classic of Jewish thought and philosophy. The author,
R. Yehudah HaLevi (ca. 1075-1141), was a prominent medieval Jewish poet and philosopher. The book, originally written in Judeo-Arabic and titled "The Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion", is best known as the Kuzari after its contents, describing a dialogue between the Kuzar (Khazar) king and a Jewish scholar. Importantly, this book grounds Jewish belief on the historicity of prophetic revelation, as opposed to other works which used intellectual arguments and proofs for faith.

The Kuzari has been acknowledged as a foundational work on Jewish thought throughout the generations, to which many thinkers are indebted. The praise for the book articulated by the Vilna Gaon is particularly well known, as recorded by his disciple R. Yisrael of Shklow: "[The Vilna Gaon] used to say to study the first book of the Kuzari, which is holy and pure, and the principles of Jewish belief and the Torah depend on it" (Tosefet Maaseh Rav, Jerusalem 1896, leaf 21).

The book was originally written in Judeo-Arabic, and has been translated into Hebrew several times. The translation in the present edition is that of R. Yehudah ibn Tibbon, which was the common translation for centuries.

On the title page is an illustration of a seven-branched menorah with knobs and flowers, the printer's mark of Meir son of Yaakov Frantz (see: A. Yaari, Diglei HaMadpisim HaIvriyim, Jerusalem 1944, no. 14, note on p. 128).

At the end of the book is a poem in praise of the book by the printer (as stated in the colophon, the concluding words of each line in the poem are a chronogram for the year of printing, 1547).

On p. 50a, signature of censor Domenico Carretto, dated 1628, and on p. 50b, signature of censor Domenico Gerosolimitano, dated 1595, and of censor Luigi da Bologna, dated 1602.

Censorship expurgations (most in ink; in several places deleted by abrasion of leaf). On p. 3a, which contains criticisms of Christianity, censorship expurgations of many lines (approx. half the page).

Over the length of the book, hundreds of glosses in Italian script, characteristic of the period of printing, by an unidentified writer. Over one hundred lengthy inscriptions, with explanations and references, as well as many glosses with emendations, sometimes conjectural. Deleted signature on title page. 

50 leaves. One blank leaf bound after title page (with handwritten inscriptions). 21 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Light wear. Worming and small tears to margins of several leaves, partially repaired with paper. Inner margin of title page repaired with paper. New binding.

CB, no. 5738,2; Zedner, p. 399; Cowley, p. 363.