Yosef Caro (sometimes Joseph Caro) (1488 - March 24, 1575) was one of the most significant leaders in Rabbinic Judaism and the author of the Shulchan Arukh, an authoritative work on Halakhah (Jewish law). Caro was never celebrated as an individual, but as a meḥabber (author). Therefore, the name Yosef Caro was only significant in relation to his works. Throughout Jewish history, there has been a tendency to remember figures by their magnum opus. So Caro is often referred to as HaMeḥabber, Hebrew for "the author [of the Shulchan Arukh]", and as Maran Beth Yosef, "our master, [the author of] Beth Yosef". Zugot (Hebrew: ) ((tÉ™qÅ«phāth) hazZÅ«ghôth) refers to the hundred year period during the time of the Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 CE), in which the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people was in the hands of five successive generations of zugot (pairs) of religious teachers. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Amora, plural Amoraim, (from the Hebrew root amar to say or tell over), were renowned Jewish scholars who said or told over the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and Israel. ... A savora (Aramaic: סבורא, plural savoraim, saboraim, סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the Amoraim (around 500 CE) to the beginning of the Geonim (around 700 CE). ... Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning pride in Biblical Hebrew and genius in modern Hebrew) were the rabbis who were the Jewish Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta/ Exilarch who wielded secular... Rishonim (ראשונים Hebrew - sing. ... Acharonim (Hebrew - sing. ... // January 8 - The present Royal Netherlands Navy was formed By decree of Maximillian of Austria. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1575 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Rabbinic Judaism (or in Hebrew Yahadut Rabanit - יהדות רבנית) is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the written Torah as well as the Oral Law (the Mishnah, Talmuds and subsequent rabbinic decisions) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: שולחן ערוך, literally:Set Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ... Magnum opus (sometimes Opus magnum, plural magna opera), from the Latin meaning great work,[1] refers to the best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer, and most commonly one who has contributed a very large amount of material. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: שולחן ערוך, literally:Set Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ...

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This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Category:Sephiroth      Sefirah redirects here. ... Qliphoth, kliffoth or klippot, Heb. ... Raziel (Hebrew RZIAL: secret[s] [of the] Lord), is an archangel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah of Judaism) who is the Keeper of Secrets and the Angel of Mysteries. In some teachings he is said to be a Cherub, as well as the chief of the... In the Jewish Kabbalah tradition, Ayn Sof (Ain Sof, Hebrew boundlessness or without end), also known referred to as Divine Being, is the name for God as he is unknown, or the mysterious and ultimate source of all existence. ... In Jewish Mysticism, Tzimtzum (צמצום Hebrew: contraction or constriction) refers to the notion in the Kabbalistic theory of creation that God contracted his infinite essence in order to allow for a conceptual space in which a finite, independent world could exist. ... Category:Sephiroth      Main article: Sephirot (Kabbalah) Tree of life is a mystical concept within the Kabbalah of Judaism which is used to understand the nature of God and the manner in which He created the world ex nihilo (out of nothing). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jewish meditation, which in Hebrew is called hisbonenus or hitbonenut, is explained most explicitely in the Kabbalistic and Chassidic texts. ... Zodiac in a 6th century synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel. ... In Hebrew, astrology was called hokmat ha-nissayon, the wisdom of prognostication, in distinction to hokmat ha-hizzayon (wisdom of star-seeing, or astronomy). ... Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, (Simon son of Yohai), was a Palestinian rabbi during the Roman period, after the destruction of the Second Temple. ... Moses ben Jacob Cordovero or Moshe Cordevero (1522-1570), known by the acronym the Ramak, was a Medieval rabbi and one of the greatest scholars of Judaisms Kabbalah. ... Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר, also known as Isaac the Blind, (c. ... Not to be confused with Bahya ibn Paquda. ... Nahmanides is the common name for Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi; the name is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Ben Nahman, meaning Son of Nahman. He is also commomly known as Ramban, being an acronym of his Hebrew name and title, Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman, and by his Catalan name... Azriel was one of the most important Jewish mystics in the Spanish town of Gerona (north of Barcelona) during the thirteenth century when it was an important center of the Kabbalah. ... The Grave of Isaac Luria in Safed Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–July 25, 1572) was a Jewish scholar and mystic. ... Rabbi Chaim Vital (1543-1620) was the closest disciple of the great 16th-century kabbalist, the Ari - Rabbi Itzchak Luria and his foremost interpreter. ... Jacob Emden was a Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and opponent of the Shabbethaians. ... Jonathan Eybeschutz (Kraków 1690 - Altona 1764), was a Talmudist, Halachist and Kabbalist, holding positions as Dayan of Prague, and later as Rabbi of the Three Communities: Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbek. ... Chaim ben Moses ibn Attar was a Talmudist and kabbalist; born at Mequenez, Morocco, in 1696; died in Jerusalem July 31, 1743. ... Nathan Adler (1741-1800) was a German kabalist born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Dec. ... Elijah Ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon The Vilna Gaon (April 23, 1720 – October 9, 1797) was a prominent Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and Kabbalist. ... The Chida Rabbi Chaim Joseph David ben Isaac Zerachia Azulai (1724 – 21 March 1807), commonly known as the Chida (by the acronym of his name), was a rabbinical scholar and a noted bibliophile, who pioneered the history of Jewish religious writings. ... Rabbi Shlomo Eliyashiv (12 Tevet, 1841 - March 13 (27 Adar) 1925) (‎) , also known as the Leshem or Baal HaLeshem, was a famous kabbalist, who lived in Shavel, Lithuania. ... Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira (‎), known as Baba Sali (Arabic: praying father) (1890-1984), was a Moroccan-born rabbi and kabbalist. ... Ben Ish Chai, Son [of] Man [who] Lives, (actual Hebrew name Yosef Chaim) was a Sephardic Judaism rabbi (chacham) and Kabbalist who lived in Baghdad from 1832 to 1909. ... The Zohar (Hebrew: זהר Splendor, radiance) is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. ... Sefer Yetzirah (Hebrew, Book of Creation[1], ספר יצירה) is the title of the earliest book on Jewish esotericism. ... Bahir or Sefer Ha-Bahir סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר (Hebrew, Book of the Brightness) is an anonymous mystical work, attributed pseudepigraphically to a first century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben ha-Kanah (a contemporary of Yochanan ben Zakai) because it begins with the words, R. Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah said. It is also known as... This article is a stub. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

Biography

If his birthplace was Spain, his family left for Portugal after the Spanish expulsion in 1492 . After the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal, in 1497, Karo went with his parents to Nicopolis (near modern Preveza), where he received his first instruction from his father, who was himself an eminent Talmudist. He married, first, Isaac Saba's daughter, and, after her death, the daughter of Hayyim Albalag, both of these men being well-known Talmudists. After the death of his second wife he married the daughter of Zechariah Sechsel (or perhaps Sachsel), a learned and wealthy Talmudist. Nicopolis (meaning in Greek: city of victory; see also List of traditional Greek place names) or Actia Nicopolis was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. ... Preveza is a town in north-western Greece. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ...

Between 1520 and 1522 Caro settled at Adrianople, where he probably met the enthusiast Solomon Molcho, who stimulated his mystical tendencies. When the latter died at the stake in 1532, Karo also was filled with a longing to be "consumed on the altar as a holy burnt offering," to sanctify the name of God by a martyr's death. Like Molkho, Karo had fantastic dreams and visions, which he believed to be revelations from a higher being. His genius, he thought, was nothing less than the Mishnah personified, which instructed him because he had devoted himself to its service. These mystical tendencies probably induced Karo to emigrate to Palestine, where he arrived about 1535, having en route spent several years at Salonica (1533) and Constantinople. Edirne is a city in (Thrace), the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. ... Solomon Molcho (Hebrew: Shlomo Molkho, meaning Solomon His Angel), originally Diogo Pires, (1500– 13 December 1532) was a New Christian who converted back to Judaism, declared himself the Messiah, and was burned at the stake for apostasy. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Holy Land or Palestine Showing not only the Old Kingdoms of Judea and Israel but also the 12 Tribes Distinctly, and Confirming Even the Diversity of the Locations of their Ancient Positions and Doing So as the Holy Scriptures Indicate, a geographic map from the studio of Tobiae Conradi... The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ...

Authority recognized

At Safed he met Rabbi Jacob Berab, who exerted a great influence upon him, Karo becoming an enthusiastic supporter of Berab's plans for the restitution of ordination. After Berab's death Karo tried to carry out these plans, ordaining his pupil Moses Alshech, but he finally gave up his endeavors, convinced that he could not overcome the opposition to ordination. Safed (Hebrew: צְפַת, Tiberian: , Israeli: Tsfat, Ashkenazi: Tzfas; Arabic: صفد ; KJV English: Zephath) is a city in the North District in Israel. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy. ... Jacob Berab, also Jacob Berav, Yaakov Berav, Yaakov Bei Rav, Talmudist and rabbi; born at Moqueda near Toledo, Spain, in 1474; died at Safed April 3, 1546. ... Semicha (Hebrew: ‎, leaning [of the hands]), also semichut (Hebrew: ‎, ordination), or semicha lerabbanut (Hebrew: ‎, rabbinical ordination) is derived from a Hebrew word which means to rely on or to be authorized. It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. ... Moses Alshech was a 16th century Kabbalist and scholar. ...

His reputation during the last thirty years of his life was greater than that of almost any other rabbi since Maimonides. The Italian Azariah dei Rossi, though his views differed widely from Karo's, collected money among the rich Italian Jews for the purpose of having a work of Karo's printed; and the Pole Moses Isserles compelled the recognition of one of Karo's decisions at Kraków, although he thought Karo was wrong. Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... Azariah ben Moses dei Rossi was an Italian-Jewish physician and scholar. ... Moses Isserles Moses Isserles (or Moshe Isserlis) (1520 - 1572), was a Rabbi and Talmudist, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha (Jewish law), entitled HaMapah (lit. ... For other uses, see Krakow (disambiguation). ...

When some members of the community of Carpentras, in France, believed themselves to have been unjustly treated by the majority in a matter relating to taxes, they appealed to Karo, whose letter was sufficient to restore to them their rights (Rev. Etudes Juives 18:133-136). In the East, Karo's authority was, if possible, even greater. His name heads the decree of excommunication directed against Daud, Joseph Nasi's agent; and it was Karo who condemned Dei Rossi's Me'or 'Enayim to be burned. Karo's death, therefore, caused general mourning, and several funeral orations delivered on that occasion have been preserved (Moses Albelda, Darash Mosheh; Samuel Katzenellenbogen, Derashot), as well as some elegies. Carpentras is a city and commune in the département of Vaucluse in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur région of France. ... Joseph Nasi (also known as João Miquez) was influential in the Ottoman court of both Sultan Suleiman I and his son Selim II. He was appointed the Lord of Tiberias, with the expressed aim of resettling Jews and encouraging industry there. ... Azariah ben Moses dei Rossi was an Italian-Jewish physician and scholar. ...

Works

Karo published during his lifetime:

• Beth Yosef, a commentary on Arba'ah Turim, the current work of Jewish law in his days;
• Shulkhan Arukh, a condensation of his decisions in Beth Yosef;
• Kesef Mishneh (Venice, 1574-5), a commentary of Mishneh Torah by Maimonides;

After his death there appeared: The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... Arbaah Turim (ארבעה טורים), often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher (Spain, 1270 -c. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... The Shulkhan Arukh (Hebrew: Prepared Table), by Rabbi Yosef Karo is considered the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... Year 1574 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1575 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ...

• Bedek ha-Bayit (Salonica, 1605), supplements and corrections to Beth Yosef;
• Kelalei ha-Talmud (Salonica, 1598), on the methodology of the Talmud;
• Avkath Rochel (Salonica, 1791), Responsa
• Maggid Mesharim (Lublin, 1646), and supplements (Venice, 1646)
• Derashot (Salonica, 1799), speeches, in the collection 'Oz Tzaddikim'.

Karo also left a commentary upon the Mishnah, as well as supercommentaries to Rashi's and Nahmanides' commentaries on the Torah, which have, apparently, not been preserved. The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. ... 1646 (MDCXLVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... 1646 (MDCXLVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Rashi (1040-1105) (Artists imagination) Rashi רשי is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שלמה יצחקי (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi), (February 22, 1040 – July 13, 1105), a rabbi in France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh. ... Nahmanides (1194 - c. ... The Torah () is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of God, traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. ...

Maggid Mesharim

Karo's literary works are considered among the masterpieces of rabbinic literature. But Karo's character has been variously criticized, the difference of opinion being connected with the literary question whether the book Maggid Mesharim is really a work by Karo, or is merely ascribed to him. This book is a kind of diary in which Karo during a period of fifty years noted his discussions with his heavenly mentor, the personified Mishna. Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ...

The discussions treat of various subjects. The maggid enjoins Karo to be modest in the extreme, to say his prayers with the utmost devotion, to be gentle and patient always. Especial stress is laid on asceticism; and Karo is often severely rebuked for taking more than one glass of wine, or for eating meat. Whenever Karo did not follow the severe instructions of his maggid, he suddenly heard its warning voice. His mentor also advised him in family affairs, told him what reputation he enjoyed in heaven, and praised or criticized his decisions in religious questions. Karo received new ideas from his maggid in regard to the Cabala only, for the study of which he had hardly any time; such information was in the nature of sundry cabalistic interpretations of the Pentateuch, that in content, though not in form, remind one of the theories of Karo's pupil, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero. Title page from Moses Cordoveros Pardes Rimonim. ...

The present form of the Maggid Mesharim shows plainly that it was never intended for publication, being merely a collection of stray notes; nor does Karo's son Judah mention the book among his father's works (Introduction to the Responsa). It is known, on the other hand, that during Karo's lifetime the cabalists believed his maggid to be actually existent (compare Vital-Calabrese, Sefer ha-Gilgulim, pp. 119, 142, Vilna, 1885). The Maggid Mesharim, furthermore, shows a knowledge of Karo's public and private life that no one could have possessed after his death; and the fact that the maggid promises things to its favorite that were never fulfilled — e.g., a martyr's death — proves that it is not the work of a forger, composed for Karo's glorification. Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes Vilna; Polish Wilno, Belarusian Вільня, Russian Вильнюс, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital city of Lithuania. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Karo's characteristics

Although Maimonides and Karo, the two greatest codifiers of rabbinical Judaism, differed so widely from each other, they had this in common, that in their codes they assumed exclusively the standpoint of Talmudism—an attitude eminently characteristic of the spirit of rabbinism. Just as Maimonides' "Yad" — aside from its book Ha-Madda — gives no indication that its author ranked Aristotle immediately after the Prophets ^{[citation needed]}, so Karo, in his works, does not betray his leaning toward mysticism. He considered the Zohar to be a work of the tanna Shimon bar Yohai, and a holy book, that, however, has little or no importance for religious practice, which must be ruled exclusively by the Talmud. Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... Aristotle (Greek: AristotélÄ“s) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... For other senses of this word, see Prophet (disambiguation). ... The Zohar (Hebrew: זהר Splendor, radiance) is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. ... Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, (Simon son of Yohai), was a Palestinian rabbi during the Roman period, after the destruction of the Second Temple. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ...

Karo's mysticism was not speculative in nature; and he devoted very little time to the Kabbalah, although his maggid often exhorted him not to neglect the study of it (Maggid Mesharim, p. 57b). The catastrophe that came upon the Pyrenean Jews made such an impression upon the minds of the best among them that many saw therein the signs of Messianic travail, (compare Jacob Berab); and Karo, according to a contemporary, took this dark view throughout his life. While men like Molkho and David Reubeni were led to commit extravagant and foolish deeds under the influence of this idea. Berab's and Karo's nobility of nature came to the fore. If Karo indulged in mystical visions, and, half dreaming, thought he heard heavenly voices in his soul, they served always as reminders to him that his life, his actions, and his accomplishments must surpass those of other people (ib. Toledot, p. 9; Azharot, p. 3b, and passim). This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Jacob Berab, also Jacob Berav, Yaakov Berav, Yaakov Bei Rav, Talmudist and rabbi; born at Moqueda near Toledo, Spain, in 1474; died at Safed April 3, 1546. ...

Kabbalah Portal

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External links

• Joseph b. Ephraim Caro jewishencyclopedia.com