  Judah Halevi (c. 1075–1141) was one of the most gifted Hebrew poets and talented philosophical theologians of medieval Spain. He was born to an enlightened family of means living in Tudela, a town in northeastern Spain under Muslim rule. He received a comprehensive education in both Hebrew and Arabic sources, encompassing the Bible, rabbinic literature, grammar, Arabic and Hebrew poetry, philosophy, theology, and medicine.  As a youth, he traveled to southern Spain (al-Andalus) and was quickly recognized for his poetic ability after winning a contest in Cordova in which entrants were asked to write a poem matching the complex style of a composition by the famed Moses ibn Ezra. The renowned poet befriended the young man and brought him to Granada where he was welcomed into courtier circles, enjoyed ibn Ezra's patronage, and composed numerous poems on mainly secular themes over several years.