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Cover of: Does God Prefer the Powerful? Reforming the King in Judah Halevi's Kuzari
Alexander Green

Does God Prefer the Powerful? Reforming the King in Judah Halevi's Kuzari

Section: Articles
Volume 28 (2021) / Issue 1, pp. 1-20 (20)
Published 15.02.2021
DOI 10.1628/jsq-2021-0002
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  • 10.1628/jsq-2021-0002
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Summary
The Kuzari is traditionally regarded as a work describing the process by which a pagan Khazar king faithfully converts to Judaism. This article offers a new interpretation, which views the King as a skeptical convert who represents an archetype of political leadership driven by the desire for power and not by knowledge or ethics. I contend that the argument put forward by the character of the Rabbi constitutes a kind of »four-step therapy« program, structured to educate the king about why he should be concerned with a just and ethical religion and not just a religion that wields power.