Against Menaḥem Ibn Sarūq’s Maḥberet: Introduction

Dunash ben Labraṭ, whose Hebrew name was Adonim, was an itinerant poet and intellectual. Born in Fez, Morocco (the name Dunash is Berber), he traveled to Baghdad to study with Se‘adya Ga’on (882–942) before returning to the Maghreb (the western part of North Africa). As part of an attempt to bolster Andalusi Jewish culture, Ḥasday Ibn Shaprūṭ (ca. 915–ca. 970), an influential adviser at the Islamic court, invited Dunash to Córdoba, where Dunash won his patronage with poetic skill. Dunash’s poetry employed Arabic forms, though somewhat rigidly; he was perhaps the first to use Arabic themes and structures in Hebrew poetry. Dunash was also involved in scholarly debates about the relationship between Hebrew and Arabic and over the nature of linguistic roots in Hebrew grammar.