The Gazelle: Medieval Hebrew Poems on God, Israel and the Soul » (1st Edition)

Raymond P. Scheindlin is Professor of Medieval Hebrew Literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has served as rabbi at the Kane Street synagogue, Brooklyn, and as provost of the Seminary.

The Spanish rabbi-poets -- among them Jehudah Halevi, Solomon AIbn Gabirol, and Samuel the Nagid -- actually used themes from love poetry and from Arabic philosophy to express religious ideas. Influenced by Arabic poetry, these Hebrew poets wrote with a sensuousness that would have been unacceptable to earlier generations.