☕ Sforno, rooted in traditional Jewish learning and teeming with new humanist ideas, brought his day and age to bear on ancient truths. He shows us how we can do the same in his famous commentaries.
I was thrilled to see you feature one of my favorite meforshim in this week's article! But the REAL reason I'm commenting is because, as a die-hard AlHaTorah.org enthusiast (sorry Sefaria), I've attempted to ignore the glaring omission of AlHaTorah links in the "____ Reads" sections of your articles, but I can remain silent no longer! A few months ago, AlHaTorah announced the following:
"R. Ovadiah Sforno was a major Torah scholar and leader of the Italian Jewish community during the first half of the 16th century. His Torah commentary is well known and included in most standard Mikraot Gedolots. As a Biblical exegete, philosopher, decisor of Jewish law, physician, mathematician, and more, Sforno was the embodiment of a Renaissance scholar.
"Now what if we could travel back in time and experience what it was like to sit in Sforno's classes? And what if we could watch Sforno writing his commentaries, crossing out, refining, and adding material between the lines?
"Well it turns out that we can indeed have something almost like both of those singular and exciting experiences, as well as the ability to study commentaries of Sforno which were completely unknown until very recently. All of this is due to the survival of two unique manuscripts and the efforts of our friend, Rabbi Moshe Kravetz. The first manuscript is an autograph which includes Sforno's first draft of his Torah commentary with copious edits, as well as his commentaries on Yonah, Chavakkuk, and Terei Asar, and his heretofore unknown commentary on half of Yeshayahu. The second manuscript contains the notes from Sforno's lectures on Torah and Tehillim recorded by a student (in the margins of a copy of the first printing of Ralbag's Torah commentary), as well as a transcription of Sforno's previously unknown commentary on Rut.
"Over the last several years, Rabbi Moshe Kravetz has produced exquisite editions of the special contents of both of these manuscripts, and we are extremely fortunate that most of these annotated editions are now available in the Mikraot Gedolot (hard copies are also available for purchase - contact us for information). Rabbi Kravetz is a Gerrer Chasid, is currently completing his dissertation on the commentaries of the student of Sforno who took the notes, and he is also the newest member of the alhatorah team. We are truly excited to welcome him!"
I regularly use Sforno in my shiurim, and these Shiurei R' Ovadia Sforno are like having access to a director's cut AND a director's commentary, all in one! I've gone back and updated Sforno-based shiurim.
You can find this in the list of regular commentaries on AlHaTorah in the drop-down menu right under Sforno's regular commentary. And they just added his annotated commentary on Tehilim and Pirkei Avos, which Sefaria ALSO doesn't have!
Your Reference 2 has a transcription of the text of Sforno's medical degree, where his name appears to be transcribed as "Sfurno". (And interestingly, his first name is rendered as "Servideus" = "servant of God", a direct translation of Ovadiah.)
I was thrilled to see you feature one of my favorite meforshim in this week's article! But the REAL reason I'm commenting is because, as a die-hard AlHaTorah.org enthusiast (sorry Sefaria), I've attempted to ignore the glaring omission of AlHaTorah links in the "____ Reads" sections of your articles, but I can remain silent no longer! A few months ago, AlHaTorah announced the following:
"R. Ovadiah Sforno was a major Torah scholar and leader of the Italian Jewish community during the first half of the 16th century. His Torah commentary is well known and included in most standard Mikraot Gedolots. As a Biblical exegete, philosopher, decisor of Jewish law, physician, mathematician, and more, Sforno was the embodiment of a Renaissance scholar.
"Now what if we could travel back in time and experience what it was like to sit in Sforno's classes? And what if we could watch Sforno writing his commentaries, crossing out, refining, and adding material between the lines?
"Well it turns out that we can indeed have something almost like both of those singular and exciting experiences, as well as the ability to study commentaries of Sforno which were completely unknown until very recently. All of this is due to the survival of two unique manuscripts and the efforts of our friend, Rabbi Moshe Kravetz. The first manuscript is an autograph which includes Sforno's first draft of his Torah commentary with copious edits, as well as his commentaries on Yonah, Chavakkuk, and Terei Asar, and his heretofore unknown commentary on half of Yeshayahu. The second manuscript contains the notes from Sforno's lectures on Torah and Tehillim recorded by a student (in the margins of a copy of the first printing of Ralbag's Torah commentary), as well as a transcription of Sforno's previously unknown commentary on Rut.
"Over the last several years, Rabbi Moshe Kravetz has produced exquisite editions of the special contents of both of these manuscripts, and we are extremely fortunate that most of these annotated editions are now available in the Mikraot Gedolot (hard copies are also available for purchase - contact us for information). Rabbi Kravetz is a Gerrer Chasid, is currently completing his dissertation on the commentaries of the student of Sforno who took the notes, and he is also the newest member of the alhatorah team. We are truly excited to welcome him!"
I regularly use Sforno in my shiurim, and these Shiurei R' Ovadia Sforno are like having access to a director's cut AND a director's commentary, all in one! I've gone back and updated Sforno-based shiurim.
You can find this in the list of regular commentaries on AlHaTorah in the drop-down menu right under Sforno's regular commentary. And they just added his annotated commentary on Tehilim and Pirkei Avos, which Sefaria ALSO doesn't have!
Anyway, thank you again for these articles. :)
https://mg.alhatorah.org/Dual/Shiurei_Sforno/Bereshit/3.1#m7e0n7
https://mg.alhatorah.org/Dual/Sforno/Tehillim/1.1#m7e0n7
https://mishna.alhatorah.org/Dual/Sforno/Avot/1.1#m7e2n7
Your Reference 2 has a transcription of the text of Sforno's medical degree, where his name appears to be transcribed as "Sfurno". (And interestingly, his first name is rendered as "Servideus" = "servant of God", a direct translation of Ovadiah.)
There is one problem, none of these people ever had a coffee.