  With this in mind, it is helpful to consider briefly what Halevi discloses about the Khazar king himself as the “original” addressee of the arguments presented. As a reigning monarch, he is, above all, a man of action who is naturally concerned with correct actions in all of the many areas in which such judgments are made. His principal responsibility is to govern his people so that they will survive and surmount any threats to their existence—internal or external—and ultimately prosper in the long run. Insofar as he also has priestly responsibilities, he is also concerned with pious actions. Yet as a pious pagan, he stands outside and apart from the three revealed religions. This might qualify him as a detached and impartial judge of what they have to teach, but it also suggests that he is disposed to be skeptical about their claims to possess a revelation from God. Beyond this, he is inclined to disdain Jews because of their despised condition and lowly estate. In general, he places a high premium on what can be learned from experience and proves himself ready to act upon what he learns.  However, to the extent that his openness to experience also includes religious experience, he emerges as a divided man whose natural piety is at odds with his skeptical inclinations.