Judah Halevi was a Spanish poet and philosopher. He is considered to this day to be one of the greatest Hebrew poets of all time, and his liturgical poetry appears in several prayer rites. He had a comprehensive education, including both secular and Torah subjects. Many are of the opinion that he was a direct student of the Rif. He also served as court physician to the king of Castile, and due to an enthusiastic patron, was well-received in wide circles. He was especially close to Abraham Ibn Ezra, who quotes him a number of times in his commentaries. His philosophical work, the Kuzari, is one of the great masterpieces of Jewish philosophy and apologetic. He felt a particularly strong yearning for the land of Israel towards the end of his life, which led him to travel first to Egypt, and then to board a boat to Israel. Although legend attributes his demise to the hooves of a military mount in Jerusalem, there is no conclusive contemporary evidence as to what befell him and whether he actually reached the land of Israel.
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