Ohr Amim. [“Light of the Nations” - philosophy]

Obadiah Sforno of Bologna (known in Latin as Salvadeus, ca. 1470-ca. 1550) was a physician by profession. Primarily known for his commentaries to the Torah and other parts of the Bible, Sforno wrote the present volume to refute the views of Aristotle which he held to be in contradiction with many of the fundamental principles of Judaism. Sforno sets out here Aristotle`s own principles which he then refutes. He also quotes abundantly from the Arab philosophers Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and al-Ghazali. A Latin translation of the work appeared under the title Lumen Gentium (Bologna, 1548). See R. Bonfil, Eshel, Be’er Sheva, Vol. I, pp. 208-211; EJ, Vol. XIV, cols. 1209-10.