Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), known by his Hebrew acronym Shadal, was the leading Italian Jewish scholar of the 19th century.  A linguist, educator, and religious thinker, he devoted his talents above all to the interpretation of the Bible, especially the plain meaning of the text.  Although he was a devout believer in the divinity, unity, and antiquity of the Torah, Shadal approached the text in a remarkably free spirit of inquiry, drawing upon a wide variety of sources, ancient and contemporary, Jewish and non-Jewish.  As a result, his interpretations may strike even the modern reader as fresh and novel.

Shadal's commentary on the Torah is now complete in five volumes!