Leone da Modena (Judah Aryeh) (1574 - 1648, Italy) was a child prodigy in both Jewish religious studies and music. He became a scholar of stupendous productivity and a famous rabbi of the Venetian community. He wrote many books, in Hebrew and Italian, and his fame spread far beyond Venice. His eloquent sermons gained popularity even among non-Jews. Priests, diplomats and princes listened to them and were eager to receive his instruction. In the manner of his age, Leone also practiced a number of other occupations, such as teacher, interpreter, musician, editor-printer, proof-corrector, bookseller and letter-writer. His writings seem to express the conflict between Jewish tradition and the rational criticism of a seventeenth-century humanist. This inner struggle, anticipating the conflict that was in store for the generation of the Enlightenment, makes Leone da Modena an amazingly modern figure.