The Tale of a 17th-Century Italian Rabbi-Doctor

In April, Edward Reichman, an expert on the history of Jews and medicine, was asked to assess the historical significance of a medical diploma issued to a Jew named Rabbi Leon son of Samuel Cantarini by the University of Padua in 1623—discovered in the vast collection of a recently deceased German biologist. Reichman explains what is known about the remarkable Cantarini family, and about Leon himself, who went on to serve as a rabbinic judge in Padua and to establish a small yeshiva in that city.