Rabbi Yehudah HaLevy, "poet laureate" of the Jewish people, lived at the height of the Golden Age of Spain, but every peak is also the turning point toward decline. As tolerance for the Jews was starting to wane, Jews were forced to defend their religion, a central theme of the classic work, the Kuzari. With an analysis of this book and its philosophy, as well as a discussion of Abraham Ibn Ezra, a contemporary much influenced by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevy, Rabbi Wein captures the spirit of the lives, works, and times of these great Jewish thinkers.

• Rabbi Shlomo ibn Gabirol, the first Jewish poet
• Rabbi Yehudah Ha Levy, "poet laureate"
• Reb Abraham ibn Ezra and his tragic life

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