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Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno
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'''Obadiah ben Jacob
Sforno''' ('''Obadja Sforno''') was an
Italy Italian rabbi,
Biblical exegesis Biblical commentator,
philosopher and
physician. He was born at
Cesena about
1475 and died at
Bologna in
1550.
After acquiring in his native town a thorough knowledge of
Hebrew language Hebrew,
rabbinic literature,
mathematics, and
philosophy, he went to
Rome to study
medicine. There his learning won for him a prominent place among scholars; and when Reuchlin was at Rome (1498-1500) and desired to perfect his knowledge of
Secular Jewish culture#Literature Hebrew literature, Cardinal
Domenico Grimani advised him to apply to Obadiah.
Equally high was Obadiah's reputation as a
casuist. Meïr Katzenellenbogen consulted him on legal questions (Responsa, p. 97, § 48), and Joseph Colon invoked his authority (Responsa, p. 96, No. 192, Sudilkov, 1834). At the request of Israel ben Jehiel Ashkenazi, rabbi of Rome, Obadiah issued a decision in the case of Donina, daughter of Samuel Ẓdarfati, the renowned physician of the pope. About 1525 Obadiah left Rome and led for some time a wandering life. From several letters of that epoch addressed to his brother Hananeel at Bologna it would appear that Obadiah was in poor circumstances. Finally he settled at Bologna, where he founded a
yeshiva (school of advanced Jewish studies) which he conducted until his death.
Obadiah was an indefatigable writer, chiefly in the field of Biblical exegesis. The characteristic features of his exegetical work are respect for the literal meaning of the text and a reluctance to entertain
Kabbalah mystical interpretations.
He possessed excellent judgment in the selection of explanations from the earlier exegetes, as
Rashi,
Abraham ibn Ezra, the Rashbam, and
Nahmanides, and he very often gives original interpretations which betray an extensive philological knowledge.
He wrote the following commentaries: on the Pentateuch (Venice, 1567); on
Canticles and
Ecclesiastes, that on the latter being dedicated to King Henry II. of France; on the Psalms (1586); "Mishpaṭ Ẓedeḳ," on
Book of Job Job (ib. 1589); on the books of
Book of Jonah Jonah,
Book of Habakkuk Habakkuk, and
Zechariah, published with David ibn Hin's "Likkute Shoshannim" (Amsterdam, 1724). He wrote also "Kavanat ha-Torah," prefixed to the
Pentateuch commentary.
Obadiah was active also in the domain of religious philosophy. In a work entitled ''Or Ammim'' (Bologna, 1537) he endeavored to combat with Biblical arguments the theories of
Aristotle on the eternity of matter, on
God's omniscience, and on the universality of the
soul, as well as various other Aristotelian views that in his view conflicted with religion.
In the introduction Obadiah says that he was induced to write his work by the fact that even so great a man as
Maimonides had expressed the opinion that all the theories of Aristotle concerning the sublunary world are absolutely correct. Obadiah himself translated the ''Or Ammim'' into
Latin and sent it to
Henry II of France Henry II of
France, but it has never been published.
External link
-
Short biography of Rabbi Obadiah Sforno
Category:Middle Ages rabbis Sforno
Category:Philosophers of Judaism Sforno
Category:1550 deaths Sforno
Category:Natives of Emilia-Romagna Sforno
he:עובדיה ספורנו
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