Addressing the Other in the Religious Poetry of Judah Halevi and Gorazd Kocijančič

Abstract

Experiencing the Transcendental—which surpasses our ability of feeling, imagination, our own selves—is an ancient experience. Parallel to this experience, attempts for its articulation were developing—with which the man soon found out that he is dealing with the ineffable. But he did not give it up. Religious literature which is perhaps trying to put the ineffable into words most directly, has been present since the beginnings of literature—and is just as relevant today. This article deals with two instances from its journey: the poetry of the medieval Jewish poet Judah Halevi and the contemporary Slovenian poet Gorazd Kocijančič. It is based on Kocijančič’s translation of a selection of Halevi’s poems (1997) and three Kocijančič’s poetry collections: Tvoja imena (2000, Your Names), Certamen spirituale (2008) and Primož Trubar zapušča Ljubljano (2012, Primož Trubar Is Leaving Ljubljana). Based on their poetry, it shows how that which pushes a religious poem into being and is at the same time its key moment—addressing the Other—is reflected in the poem itself. Firstly, the article describes how the poets relate to the tradition of mystical poetry, as the discussed aspect of poetry is most directly present in it. It then discusses how the lyrical subject addresses the o(O)ther, God—by using names and the structure of the poem itself, which always addresses s(S)omeone. We will see that the authors describe the same experience, despite the historical, cultural, and ultimately religious distance between them.