The Kuzari: On the Chosenness of the Jewish People

The Kuzari or The Book of Rejoinder and Proof in Support of the Humiliated Religion (Kitāb al-ḥujja wa-’l-dalīl fī naṣr al-dīn al-dhalīl) is an imagined discussion between the king of the Khazars and a Jewish sage. The dialogue ranges through aspects of Jewish, Muslim, and pagan religions, and the sage eventually persuades the king to convert to Judaism along with nobles in his kingdom. Based on a purported historical event, The Kuzari enjoyed enormous popularity as a theological defense of Judaism, especially after its translation in 1166 into Hebrew by Judah Ibn Tibbon (ca. 1120–after 1190). In this excerpt, the Jewish interlocutor describes the origins of the Jewish people in quasi-genetic terms. The term amr ilāhī, translated as “divine order,” is a complex term, referring to the divine presence but also suggesting the highest level or ordering of the cosmological hierarchy, the prophetic experience, and the divine command.