Last Will and Testament

Ovadiah Sforno was born in Cesena, Italy. He later studied philosophy, mathematics, philology, and medicine in Rome, where he also taught Hebrew to the Christian humanist Johannes Reuchlin. Sforno finally settled in Bologna, where he helped revive the Hebrew printing house, reorganize the community, and establish a house of study. Sforno died in Bologna. He is most famed for his commentaries on the Pentateuch, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes (Venice, 1567), the last of which was dedicated to King Henri II of France. He avoided mystical and kabbalistic interpretations and paid little attention to philology, geography, or history, but on occasion he employed his medical knowledge to explain commandments. Sforno also composed the philosophical work Or ‘amim (Light of the Peoples; Bologna, 1537), a commentary on Pirke Avot, a translation of Euclid, and other texts that remain in manuscript.