The Great Rabbi of the Italian Renaissance

April 27 2023

Few rabbinic figures have had so great an impact on both Jewish and non-Jewish intellectual history as Obadiah Sforno, who was born around 1475 in the northern Italian city of Cesena and died around 1550 in Bologna. His commentary on much of the Tanakh—a standard feature of rabbinic Bibles since the 18th century—is characterized, as Tamar Marvin writes, by a search for the text’s “spiritual-ethical” meaning combined with “humanist ideals.” In addition, Sforno wrote philosophical treatises and cultivated relationships with leading Christian intellectuals—which included teaching Hebrew to the pioneering Hebraist and humanist Johannes Reuchlin.

Hailing from a well-heeled, well-educated family, Sforno was trained in traditional Talmud study as well as humanist favorites such as mathematics, philosophy, and philology (which we now call linguistics). He received medical training in an Italian university as well, and his doctorate in artibus et medicina (arts and medicine) has surfaced, dated 1501. Sforno is then attested at Rome, apparently leaving in 1527, when it was sacked by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Thereafter he settled in Bologna, becoming active in communal affairs and heading the yeshiva there.

The philosophical themes that Sforno returns to in his prose works are interwoven throughout his Tanakh commentary. In this sense, his work as a commentator is a chief conduit of his philosophy. These themes, clearly inflected by the intellectual currents of humanist Italy, include human potential and self-realization and the power and limits of human reason.

This latter theme emerges in full in Sforno’s philosophical treatise, Or Amim (“Light of the Nations”), which he subsequently translated into Latin. There he uses Aristotelian methodology to argue against Aristotelianism, the great intellectual movement of the high and late Middle Ages. This unusual exercise remains of interest to us today. . . . As we try to agree on how we generate facts and what counts as standards of evidence in light of our subjectivity, we can look to a work like Or Amim to show us how one system of meaning is eclipsed by another, and how to carry forward its treasures while being open to future possibilities.

Read more at Stories from Jewish History

More about: Aristotle, Christian Hebraists, Italian Jewry, Jewish history, Renaissance

After Taking Steps toward Reconciliation, Turkey Has Again Turned on Israel

“The Israeli government, blinded by Zionist delusions, seizes not only the UN Security Council but all structures whose mission is to protect peace, human rights, freedom of the press, and democracy,” declared the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech on Wednesday. Such over-the-top anti-Israel rhetoric has become par for the course from the Turkish head of state since Hamas’s attack on Israel last year, after which relations between Jerusalem and Ankara have been in what Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak describes as “free fall.”

While Erdogan has always treated Israel with a measure of hostility, the past few years had seen steps to reconciliation. Yanarocak explains this sharp change of direction, which is about much more than the situation in Gaza:

The losses at the March 31, 2024 Turkish municipal elections were an unbearable blow for Erdoğan. . . . In retrospect it appears that Erdoğan’s previous willingness to continue trade relations with Israel pushed some of his once-loyal supporters toward other Islamist political parties, such as the New Welfare Party. To counter this trend, Erdoğan halted trade relations, aiming to neutralize one of the key political tools available to his Islamist rivals.

Unsurprisingly, this decision had a negative impact on Turkish [companies] engaged in trade with Israel. To maintain their long-standing trade relationships, these companies found alternative ways to conduct business through intermediary Mediterranean ports.

The government in Ankara also appears to be concerned about the changing balance of power in the region. The weakening of Iran and Hizballah could create an unfavorable situation for the Assad regime in Syria, [empowering Turkish separatists there]. While Ankara is not fond of the mullahs, its core concern remains Iran’s territorial integrity. From Turkey’s perspective, the disintegration of Iran could set a dangerous precedent for secessionists within its own borders.

Read more at Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security

More about: Iran, Israel diplomacy, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey