Columbia University came into possession of an unusual manuscript dubbed “The Garden of Wisdom,” a systematic treatise of the theology of the Jews living in Southern Arabia written by Nathanael Ibn al-Fayyumi in the twelfth century. A unique look into the Yemenite Jewish mind, this document is of considerable interest in that little is otherwise known of Jewish intellectual life in that part of the world. Levine took on the task of translating this document from a single manuscript, written in Arabic but transcribed into Hebrew characters. As the oldest extant Jewish Yemenite work, the piece has special importance. The leader of the Yemenite Jews, Nathanael Ibn al-Fayyumi, wrote this popular introduction to Jewish theology during a period of intense persecution, when it was feared that the faith might die out. "The Garden of Wisdom" is a rare Jewish systematic theology, here presented in English translation as well as in the Arabic (in Hebrew script) original.

David Levine earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University.