The Torah Commentary of Italy’s Unorthodox Defender of Orthodoxy

Born in the Austrian city of Trieste, Samuel David Luzatto (1800–1865, known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal) was a rabbi and teacher, a fierce opponent of Reform Judaism, a critic of both mysticism and Maimonidean rationalism, and a scholar eager to apply new academic methods to the study of Jewish texts. Daniel Klein has recently completed an annotated translation into English of Luzzatto’s translation of, and commentary (perush) on, the Torah. Klein discusses this fascinating figure, his approach to Scripture, and his unorthodox ideas about the rabbinic tradition (or Torah she-ba’al peh) in conversation with Nachi Weinstein. (Audio, 66 minutes.)