236 r Libby Garshowitz
a more extensive biography, see Schirmann’s History of Hebrew Poetry in Christian Spain
and Southern France, ed. Ezra Fleischer (Jerusalem: Magnes Press and Ben-Zvi Institute,
1977), 222–55; Ya ̔akov ben El’azar: Kitāb al-Kamil, ed. Nehemiah Allony (Jerusalem:
American Academy for Jewish Studies, 1977), 6–11, in which Allony illustrates Jacob ben
Elazar’s depiction of Arabs as lacking culture.
- See J. Schirmann, “Les Contes Rimés de Jacob ben Eléazar de Tolède,” Ėtudes
d’Orientalisme Dédiées a la Mémoire de Lévi-Provençal (Paris: G. P. Maisonneuve, 1962),
285–97, and J. Schirmann, History of Hebrew Poetry in Christian Spain and Southern
France, 224–40, 250–55. - Mahberet One elevates the desire to be wise into an erotic rhapsody about the love
of wisdom through the intellectual soul as opposed to the material one. See Schirmann,
History of Hebrew Poetry in Christian Spain and Southern France, 250–52; Decter, Iberian
Jewish Literature, 141–42. - Mahberet Three. See also Moses ibn Ezra’s Sefer Shirat Yisrael, ed. Ben-Zion
Halper (Leipzig: Matshaf, 1924), 62–80, and Alharizi’s Book of Tahkemoni: Jewish Tales
from Medieval Spain, trans. and annotated by David Simha Segal (Portland, Ore.: Lit-
tmann Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001), Gate 18, 175–89. Henceforth all citations to
Sefer Tahkemoni are to Segal’s edition. - Mahberet Four. See also Alharizi, Sefer Tahkemoni, Gate 40, 302–306 and, for its
analysis, 601–603. - Mahberet Seven (“Yoshefe and His Two Loves”) and Mahberet Nine (“Kima and
Sahar’s Love Story”) are analyzed in this essay. - See Yonah David, Sefer Meshalim, 7–8.
- On Alharizi’s discourse on the composition of literary works in Arabic and He-
brew, see Drory, “Literary Contacts,” 285–92, and Judah Alharizi, Sefer Tahkemoni, 11–15. - Ha-yesh lashon le-hallel ’o le-gadef ve-la- ̔ir ’ahavah ki-leshon ̔aravim, u-milhamot
ve-qorot ha-zemanim ve-’ay millim ke-millenu ̔arevim? See also Rina Drory’s translation
of this passage in “Literary Contacts,” 293; Schirmann, History of Hebrew Poetry in Chris-
tian Spain and Southern France, 222, 224 and nn. 1, 10. To quote Raymond Scheindlin’s
work, “Rabbi Moshe Ibn Ezra on the Legitimacy of Poetry,” Medievalia et Humanistica 7
(1976): 101–15, especially 101–102: “How is it that poetry is a natural aptitude of the Arabs
but an affectation among the other nations?” Unless otherwise indicated, all translations
are mine. - ki be-la ̔agei safa u-vi-leshon ’aheret yedabber ’el ha- ̔am ha-zeh, Isaiah 28:11. See
also Maimonides’ comments as cited in Kozodoy, “Reading Medieval Love Poetry,” 111–13
and note 1. - See Judah Alharizi, Sefer Tahkemoni, Arabic dedication, introduction, as quoted
in Rina Drory, “Literary Contacts,” 289. Alharizi states, “I have noticed that most of the
Israelite community in these lands of the East are devoid of the Hebrew language and
denuded of its beautiful garments.” - Ezekiel 17:2: hud hiddah meshol mashal. See also Drory: “put forth a riddle and
speak a parable,” in “Literary Contacts,” 293. - Proverbs 30:1, 31:1.
- See, e.g., Solomon ibn Gabirol in Schirmann, HPSP, 1:227, #86: le-gonevei shir.