Abstract Halevi’s historical and cultural matrix was Islamic Spain (al-Andalus) in the taifa and Almoravid periods, home to a cosmopolitan Judeo-Arabic culture, Arabic-inspired Hebrew poetry, and a Neoplatonic outlook. Inspired partly by Islamic pietistic writing, Halevi turned away from the Neoplatonic heritage to embrace a new Jewish pietism of the kind seen in the writings of Bahya Ibn Paquda; Halevi’s career is described as a Jewish parallel to that of al-Ghazzālī, a distinguished Islamic scholar turned Sufi. Halevi’s poetry is quoted extensively to illustrate themes of a personal (as opposed to specifically Jewish) piety, such as service to God, asceticism (Arabic zuhd), trust in God (tawakkul), seeking God’s pleasure (riḍā), and repentance (tawba). The chapter concludes with a full study of four poems selected to illustrate these themes.