Haim (Howard) Kreisel

Livyat Hen

: Account of Creation by R. Levi ben Avraham (Heb.) critical annotated edition with introduction and edition of section of poem Battei ha-Nefesh ve-Lahashim

Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 2004.

Jewish philosophical-allegorical exegesis reached its zenith in Provence at the end of the 13th century in the multi dimensional treatise Livyat Hen by R. Levi ben Avraham. Five sections of this encyclopedic work are devoted to the sciences and two sections with Judaism. In the part entitled "Work of Creation" (the third part of the first section devoted to Judaism), R. Levi deals with the creation story in the Torah, the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the stories of the early generations of humanity. In his commentary he incorporates a great deal of material from rabbinic literature, exegetical literature, philosophy and the sciences. The edition includes both the shorter and longer recensions of this part as well as the section "Work of Creation" from R. Levi's encyclopedic poem, "Battei ha-Nefesh ve-Lahashim".

480 pages, including bibliography and indices