Son of Rav Shmuel
The foremost talmid of the Ramchal
Born around 20 Iyar 1696/7, ה' תנז Padua, Italy.
Rav Moshe Dovid received semichah at the same time 1726 תפ"ו as his colleague, the Ramchal, who was ten years his junior. The Ramchal, who initially studied Kabbalah under Rav Moshe Dovid, later became his mentor (see Almansi Kerem Chemed).
He married Simchah and they had a son Shmuel.
Rav Moshe David also studied medicine at the University in Padua which was one of the few universities in Europe that accepted Jews. He later practiced as a physician there in Padua, Italy.
When the Ramchal founded a yeshivah and bais medrash, he cosigned along with Rav Moshe Dovid Walli and Rav Yekusiel Gordon. When the Ramchal left Italy for Amsterdam, Rav Moshe Dovid Walli replaced him as the head of the yeshivah and bais medrash.
The Ramchal’s great esteem for his colleague and disciple is further demonstrated by the fact that the Ramchal copied and edited many teachings from Rav Moshe Dovid Walli’s writings and that they coauthored two seforim. They were: Vikuach (Debate), which dealt with rectifying the sale of Yosef haTzadik, and Peulah, regarding the concept of Armilus the Wicked* and the coming redemption.
Rav Mordechai Shmuel Gerondi (Mordecai Shmuel ben Benzion Aryeh Ghirondi) Av Beis Din Padua, writes in his sefer, Toldos Gedolei Italy:
