Rabbi Joseph Caro succeeded where others before him tried and failed. He gave the Jewish people an organized and universally accepted code of law. In his first book, “Beit Yosef”, he compiled all the laws and ritual practices from biblical times, as well as rulings and interpretations accumulated over 1,500 years. All these were codified systematically, and accompanied by rulings on divisive issues. The Jewish world received Caro’s Halacha enthusiastically, and his “Shulchan Aruch”, the shortened from of “Beit Yosef”, is the authoritative code of law for traditional Jews to this day.
Joseph Caro was 4 when the Jews were banished from Spain. His family resettled in Turkey, where he spent the next 40 years. He set up a yeshiva in Adrianople and associated with prominent kabbalists like Shlomo Alkabets. He was greatly influenced by Shlomo Molkho, the apocalyptic visionary, and ended up immigrating to the Land of Israel and setting in Tzfat. Here he wrote his monumental work.
Like most of his contemporaries, Caro delved into the Kabbalah. He recorded the revelations of Maggid (angelic voice) which he experienced, in his dairy “Maggid Mesharim”. Many believe that it is only through such divine Supervision that he succeeded in compiling his immensely important work.
succeeded where others before him tried and failed. He gave the Jewish people an organized and universally accepted code of law. In his first book, “Beit Yosef”, he compiled all the laws and ritual practices from biblical times, as well as rulings and interpretations accumulated over 1,500 years. All these were codified systematically, and accompanied by rulings on divisive issues. The Jewish world received Caro’s Halacha enthusiastically, and his “Shulchan Aruch”, the shortened from of “Beit Yosef”, is the authoritative code of law for traditional Jews to this day.
Joseph Caro was 4 when the Jews were banished from Spain. His family resettled in Turkey, where he spent the next 40 years. He set up a yeshiva in Adrianople and associated with prominent kabbalists like Shlomo Alkabets. He was greatly influenced by Shlomo Molkho, the apocalyptic visionary, and ended up immigrating to the Land of Israel and setting in Tzfat. Here he wrote his monumental work.
Like most of his contemporaries, Caro delved into the Kabbalah. He recorded the revelations of Maggid (angelic voice) which he experienced, in his dairy “Maggid Mesharim”. Many believe that it is only through such divine Supervision that he succeeded in compiling his immensely important work.
Tomb of Rabbi Yosef Caro
