Little is known about Yedaya ha-Penini (ca. 1285–1340) except that he wrote several works of arcane religious poetry, following in the footsteps of his father Abraham of Béziers. Both were products of a Provençal Jewish culture that was heavily influenced by, but distinct from, that of nearby Spanish Jewry. Tamar Marvin reviews a recently published English translation of Penini’s poetic ethical discourse Sefer ha-Pardes, “The Book of the Orchard.”

Sefer ha-Pardes is surely a window into a lost world, with its late-medieval interest in the liberal arts, the didactic pleasure it takes in instructing its readers morally, and the linguistic play that clearly delights its seventeen-year-old author. Yedaya ha-Penini’s father . . . wrote, among other works, a poem called Elef Alefin (“A Thousand Alephs”), in which, as promised by the title, every word begins with the letter alef. Yedaya himself wrote a spin-off, Bakashat ha-Memim (“The Request of the Mems”), in which, yes, every word begins with a mem.

“The king fears two people: the doctor and the artist,” Yedaya opines. “Learning is like food, and stories arouse the appetite.” Sections of such pithy epigrams are interspersed with longer parables, all within the conceit of the request from Yedaya’s friend for “a memorial of universal principles on human moral attributes.”

Much of the pleasure of reading Sefer ha-Pardes, it must be said, resides in the Hebrew, rather uncomplicated by medieval belletristic standards, and therefore plausibly accessible to most readers of the language.

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”