Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno: The Life And Works Of Italy’s Preeminent Rav And Physician

Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno was born in Cesena, Italy around 1470 to a well-known family that had been in Italy for several generations. Many great rabbis bore the name Sforno and served their communities faithfully. But the most famous of all the Sfornos was Rabbi Ovadiah ben Yaakov.

He received a thorough Torah education and at a young age, when other children were just beginning to study the Talmud, he had already mastered a large portion of it. At the same time, he began to study mathematics and philosophy, and to write his own commentaries on the Tanach.

In 1490, he traveled to Rome to study medicine and other disciplines. While there, Rabbi Ovadiah encountered and tutored Johann Reuchlin (1455-15220), a prominent and influential Italian legalist, politician, Hebraist, and book collector.

Soon, word got out among the Jews of Rome that this young genius was in their midst. They regarded him with great respect and posed to him their hardest shailas. Other great scholars, such as Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen and Joseph Colon, exchanged opinions with Rabbi Obadiah on questions of Jewish law, and Rabbi Israel ben Jechiel Ashkenazi sought his advice and guidance regarding communal affairs. Thus, Rabbi Obadiah Sforno had a decisive hand in the shaping of Jewish life in Italy.

Sometime after 1524, Rabbi Ovadiah left Rome and settled in Bologna where he served as rosh yeshivaof the local yeshiva and practiced as a physician. Rabbi Ovadiah was active in reopening the Hebrew printing house in Bologna, which had been closed for many years. Rabbi Ovadiah remained in Bologna until his death around 1550.

Although he is prominently known as a writer of Tanach commentaries, Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno was also considered one the leading Italian halachic authorities of his day. This is evidenced by the fact that the preeminent Italian rabbi and posek, Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam Padua), cites his rulings and describes him in lofty terms.

{Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno’s Works

Rabbi Ovadiah wrote numerous works but is most well-known for his classic commentary on the Chumash which is printed in most editions of the Mikraos Gedolos Chumash. He also wrote commentaries on Shir Hashirim, Kohelet, Tehillim, Jonah, Habakkuk, Zechariah, and Mishpat Zedek on the Book of Job. He also wrote Kavanat HaTorah, which is prefixed to the Chumash commentary. Ovadiah was also active in religious philosophy. In a work entitled Or Amim (Bologna, 1537), he endeavored to combat with biblical arguments the theories of Aristotle on the eternity of matter, on Hashem’s omniscience, as well as various other Aristotelian views that, in his view, conflicted with religion.

Despite associating with the most eminent scholars and nobility of his time, Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno never lost his deep piety and modesty. He was always able to see the deeper truth that is to be found in science and philosophy, and recognized the false and mistaken ideas that were all too often accepted by others. In his works, he left us a great treasure of knowledge and faith. When he died at the age of seventy‑five, his memory lived on. With all his commentaries that are printed together with Rashi, Ramban, Ibn Ezra, and others, Rabbi Sforno has obtained a notable place among the greats. He was niftar in Bologna in 1549. n

Nosson Wiggins (@jewishhistorysheimhagedolim) is the author of two books on the subject of Jewish history, “The Tannaim & Amoraim” and “The Rishonim” (Judaica Press). He researches Jewish History at the Klau Library, HUC-JIR in his hometown of Cincinnati and leads tours of Klau’s Rare Book Room. He is a passionate enthusiast of Jewish history and when he’s not in the hospital working as a nurse, he can be found researching and writing posts for his Substack, “Jewish History—Sheim Hagedolim.”