http://biblehub.com/hebrew/4339.
htm
Like all leading rabbinic scholars of his time, [Joseph] Caro was also a kabbalist,
profoundly concerned with kabbalistic doctrine and committed to the kabbalistic
ideals of ascetic and spiritual perfection, even though the main focus of his
activity as a writer and teacher was in the halakhic field. He belonged to a circle of
scholars and ascetics that included the leading kabbalists of the age, many of
whom were known to have had extraordinary visionary, auditory, and other
mystical experiences. These kabbalistic circles flourished already in the Balkans
(Salonika, Adrianople) even before Safed developed into the leading center of
kabbalist teaching and piety. Among Caro's acquaintances and associates mention
should be made of Moses *Cordovero (who considered Caro his "master"), of
Cordovero's teacher, friend, and brother-in-law Solomon *Alkabeẓ (who was also
Caro's close friend), and of other leading kabbalists of Safed. In Caro's circle
Kabbalah was not merely a matter of mystical theology and theosophical
speculation, and several members experienced mystical revelations of diverse
kinds (Solomon *Molcho , Joseph Taitaẓak, and others). Caro believed himself to
be regularly visited – generally at night – by a heavenly mentor ("maggid") who
revealed to him kabbalistic doctrines, as well as rules and predictions for his
private ascetic life. This heavenly mentor (see *Maggid ) identified himself as the
heavenly archetype of the Mishnah and the Shekhinah, and manifested himself in
the form of "automatic speech," i.e., as a voice coming out of Caro's mouth which
could be heard by others. The best-known account of this phenomenon is that
contained in a letter by Solomon Alkabeẓ, recounting such a "maggidic"
manifestation during a *Shavuot-night vigil in Caro's house, probably in Nikopolis.
These visitations, which continued for about 50 years, were not experienced in a
state of trance, for Caro subsequently remembered the messages and wrote them
down in a kind of mystical diary. A small part of this diary has survived in
manuscript and was subsequently printed under the title Maggid Mesharim (1st,
incomplete, ed. Lublin, 1646; 2nd, supplementary, ed., Venice, 1649; 1st complete
ed., Amsterdam, 1708). Attempts to deny Caro's authorship of the Maggid
Mesharim were mainly inspired by the prejudice that this lucid halakhist could not
possibly have exhibited such mystical states (seen as irrational, trance-like, or
even pathological); the authenticity of the book is, however, beyond doubt.
“Caro, Joseph ben Ephraim.” Encyclopaedia Judaica
Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 4. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan
Reference USA, 2007. p488-491. COPYRIGHT 2007 Keter Publishing House Ltd.
David Tamar, Louis Isaac Rabinowitz, R. J. Zwi Werblowsky and Moshe Idel
Mesharim - the angel for whom Joseph Caro (1488-1575) titled his book, Maggid
Mesharim, that describes the visions that the angel gave to him. In the fifteenth
century Caro served as the doyen of the cabalistic Safed community of Upper
Galilee (Palestine).
http://hafapea.com/angelpages/angels4.html
http://www.morfix.co.il/%D7%9E%D6%B5%D7%99%D7%A9%D6%B8%D7%81%D7%A8
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo 1
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo
Rabbi Joseph Karo
HaMechaber
Maran
Artistic conception of Karo's appearance
Personal details
Birth name Joseph ben Ephraim Karo
Born 1488
Toledo, Spain
Died March 24, 1575
Safed
Buried Safed
Signature
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, also spelled Yosef Caro, or Qaro, (Toledo, 1488 – Safed, March 24, 1575)[1] was
author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch, which is still authoritative for all Jews
pertaining to their respective communities. To this end he is often referred to as HaMechaber (Hebrew: "The
Author") and as Maran (Aramaic: "Our Master").[2]
Early life
Karo was born in Toledo, Spain in 1488. In 1492, aged four years old, he was forced to flee Spain with his family
and the rest of Spanish Jewry as a result of the Alhambra Decree and subsequently settled in Portugal. After the
expulsion of the Jews from Portugal in 1497, the Ottomans invited the Jews to the Ottoman territory and Karo went
with his parents to Nikopolis of the Ottoman Empire, and spent the rest of his life in the Ottoman Empire. In
Nikopol, 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
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo 2
learned and wealthy Talmudist.
Already as a young man, he gained a reputation as a brilliant Torah scholar. He began by writing an explanation on
the Rambam's Mishneh Torah. He called his work the Kesef Mishnah. Here he cited and explained Rambam's
sources.
Between 1520 and 1522 Karo settled at Edirne. He later settled in the city of Safed, Land of Israel, where he arrived
about 1535, having en route spent several years at Salonica (1533) and Istanbul.
Authority recognized
After his first wife died at a young age, he married the daughter of Rabbi Issac Sabba. For a short while he lived in
Nikopol, but decided to make his way to the Land of Israel so that he could immerse himself in its sanctity and
complete his written works. Passing through Salonica, he met the great kabbalist Joseph Taitazak. He continued his
journey to the Holy Land via Egypt and eventually settled in Safed.
At Safed he met Jacob Berab and was soon appointed a member of his rabbinical court. Berab exerted great
influence upon him, and Karo became an enthusiastic supporter of Berab's plans for the restitution of semicha
(rabbinical ordination) which had been in abeyance for over 11 centuries. Karo was one of the first he ordained and
after Berab's death, Karo tried to perpetuate the scheme by ordaining his pupil Moses Alshech, but he finally gave up
his endeavors, convinced that he could not overcome the opposition to ordination. Karo also established a yeshiva
where he taught Torah to over 200 students.
A Yemenite Jewish traveler, Zechariah (Yaḥya) al-Dhahiri, visited Rabbi Karo's yeshiva in Safed, in circa 1567
CE[3] and wrote of his impressions on this wise:[4]
“
I journeyed from Syria, the province, through Upper Galilee, unto the city of Safed, the land of Canaan… I then came into the city, and lo!
Within her dwelt the Divine Presence, for within her there is a large community, frowardness being removed far from them, about fourteen
thousand in number! In eighteen seats of learning they had come to study the Talmud. There, I saw the light of the Law, and the Jews had
light. They surpassed all other communities… Then it was that I knew my estimable worth, based on all my strength and ability, and lo! I had
been deficient in several matters. Now, ‘that which is lacking cannot be numbered’ (Eccl. 1:15). I made myself inconspicuous in her midst,
while my thoughts were languorous. Within the synagogues and midrashic study halls I had come to hear the expositors who expound upon a
certain matter in several ways, seeing that they know every secret thing, from the walls of the ceiling, all the way down to its foundation – but,
especially, the great luminary, even the wise man, Rabbi Joseph Karo, from whose seat of learning the wise men of Safed do not quit
themselves, for in his heart the Talmud is stored, after he had sat down in learning for seven years, within a confined chamber. Now, aside
from several branches of wisdom, within his heart are sealed, both, revelations and mysteries. ”
I went one Sabbath to his seat of learning, to see his honourable and glorious magnanimity. I sat down by the entrance, alongside the doorpost
of the gate, while my cogitations from foolishness were sorely gripped by fear. Now, that wise man the elder sat upon a chair, and with his
mouth he did amplify the subject matter. By an utterance he would draw man away from his burthen caused by the vicissitudes of time, in
drawing him nigh unto the faithful God. He would then clothe him, as it were, in sumptuous apparel fit for those who are free, by his recital of
the verse: ‘The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul’ (Ps. 19:7). He then deliberated on a certain matter by explicating its plain and
esoteric sense. Before him were seated about two-hundred very admirable and distinguished pupils, sitting upon benches. When he had
finished his words of wisdom, he gestured to a certain disciple opposite him to speak… Now, when that wise man (i.e. Rabbi Joseph Karo)
heard the words of that disciple, he was astonished by his eloquence of speech who had given plausible arguments about the soul, and he then
raised him up and exalted him above all the pupils that were with him… I stayed there awhile, until the wise man (i.e. Rabbi Joseph Karo) had
gestured to his pupils to stand up, and then gave order to each one to learn a Mishna. So they went their way, the pupils who were there
gathered and the wise man (i.e. Rabbi Joseph Karo).
When Jacob Berab died, Karo was regarded as his successor, and together with Rabbi Moshe of Trani he headed the
Rabbinical Court of Safed. In fact, by this time, the Rabbinical Court of Safed had become the central rabbinical
court in all of Ottoman Syria, and indeed of the diaspora as well. Thus there was not a single matter of national or
global importance that did not come to the attention and ruling of the Safed Beth Din. Its rulings were accepted as
final and conclusive, and Karo's halachic decisions and clarifications were sought by sages from every corner of the
diaspora. He came to be regarded as the leader of the entire generation
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo 3
In a dramatic testimonial, Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz
testified that in Salonica, Karo had become one of the
rare individuals who merited to be instructed by a
maggid - a private angelic teacher who revealed to him
many kabbalistic teachings. The maggid exhorted Karo
to sanctify and purify himself, and he revealed to him
events that would take place in the future. In Shaarei
Kedusha, Rabbi Chaim Vital explains that visitation by
a maggid is a form of Divine Inspiration (ruach
hakodesh). The teachings of the maggid are recorded in
his published work titled Maggid Meisharim, although
Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai notes that only
about one fiftieth of the manuscript was ever published,
(see Works). However, in numerous places in Maggid
Meisharim it is stated that, "I am the Mishna that
speaks in your mouth," indicating that the Oral Torah
itself (of which the Mishna is the fundamental part)
spoke within him. (However, these two explanations
are not necessarily contradictory—in the merit of the
Mishna Karo constantly reviewed, he was worthy of an
angelic teacher).
Karo's grave in Safed
The Maggid promised him that he would have the merit
of settling in the Land of Israel, and this promise was fulfilled. Another promise, that he would merit to die a
martyr's death sanctifying God's Name like Rabbi Shlomo Molcho had merited, did not transpire for an unspecified
reason.
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 Moses Isserles compelled the
recognition of one of Karo's decisions at Kraków, although he thought Karo was wrong.
When some members of the community of Carpentras, 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. Several funeral orations delivered on that occasion have been preserved (Moses
Albelda, Darash Mosheh; Samuel Katzenellenbogen, Derashot), as well as some elegies from Karo's passing.
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo 4
Works
Karo published during his lifetime:
• Beth Yosef ()בית יוסף, a commentary on Arba'ah
Turim, the current work of Jewish law in his days. In
this commentary Qaro shows an astounding mastery
over the Talmud and the legalistic literature of the
Middle Ages. He felt called upon to systematize the
laws and customs of Judaism in face of the
disintegration caused by the Spanish expulsion.
• Shulchan Aruch ()שולחן ערוך, a condensation of his
decisions in Beth Yosef. Finished in 1555, this code
was published in four parts in 1565. The work was
not accepted without protest and criticism, but after
the lapse of a century, and in consequence of certain
revisions and amplifications, it became the almost
unquestioned authority of the whole Jewish world.;
• Kesef Mishneh (( )כסף משנהVenice, 1574-5), a
commentary of Mishneh Torah by Maimonides;
After his death there appeared:
• Bedek ha-Bayit (( )בדק הביתSalonica, 1605),
supplements and corrections to Beth Yosef;
Title page of Karo's Shulchan Aruch
• Kelalei ha-Talmud (( )כללי התלמודSalonica, 1598),
on the methodology of the Talmud;
• Avkath Rochel (( )אבקת רוכלSalonica, 1791), Responsa
• Maggid Meisharim (( )מגיד מישריםLublin, 1646), and supplements (Venice, 1646)
• Derashot (( )דרשותSalonica, 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.
Maggid Meisharim
Karo's literary works are considered among the masterpieces of rabbinic literature. The Maggid Meisharim (1646;
“Preacher of Righteousness”), another major work, a strange and mystical diary, is a kind of diary in which Karo
during a period of fifty years recorded the nocturnal visits of an angelic being, his heavenly mentor, the personified
Mishna (the authoritative collection of Jewish Oral Law). His visitor spurred him to acts of righteousness and even
asceticism, exhorted him to study the Kabbala, and reproved him for moral laxities.
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 Kabbala only; 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.
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo 5
The present form of the Maggid Meisharim 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 kabalists believed his Maggid to be actually
existent (compare Vital-Calabrese, Sefer ha-Gilgulim, pp. 119, 142, Vilna, 1885). The Maggid Meisharim,
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.
Karo's characteristics
Karo's mysticism was not speculative in nature; and he devoted time to the Kabbalah, 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).
He died on the 13 Nisan 5335 (1575 CE), aged 87.
References
[1] Rabbi Joseph Karo (http:/ / www. ou. org/ pardes/ bios/ caro. htm), OU
[2] Joseph ben Ephraim Karo (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ EBchecked/ topic/ 312602/ Joseph-ben-Ephraim-Karo), Encyclopædia Britannica
[3] The date of al-Dhahari’s visit to the Land of Israel is alluded to in Chapter Twenty-Five of al-Dhahiri’s book, Sefer Ha-Musar. There, he
writes: “…Now, in Tiberius there was the wise man, [Rabbi Eliezer] Ben Yochai, in whose generation he was of singular character; in the
year, et ha-keves he-eḥad = אחד'ה הכב"ש את, I moved on from there into the village of Kanah, the city of Jonah, the son of Amitai, and from
there to Shechem and to Jerusalem, and Hebron the place of my fathers.” The year is denoted in Hebrew characters, in the form of a biblical
verse (i.e. “the one lamb” – Exo. 29:39), each Hebrew character having a numerical value. The year given is highlighted as = ה( הכב"ש5; = כ
20; = ב2; = ש300), which, being rearranged, is actually 327) )השכ"ב, believed to have been the abbreviated form of the year, without the
millennium. By adding the numerical value of the first letter of the next word, הin the word האחד, it brings us to the millennium 5; that year
being 5,327 anno mundi, or what was then 1567 CE. Thus is it explained in Yehuda Ratzaby’s 1965 edition of Sefer Ha-Musar, p. 287, who
relied upon the date of 1567, based upon Yaari’s calculations. Mordechai Yitzhari, however, in his 2008 edition of Sefer Ha-Musar, p. 162, for
reasons unexplained, appends the date of 1565. It should be pointed out here that if we were to strictly apply the numerical values in the word
השכ"בalone, with the view that it already includes the millennium of 5, the year of al-Dhahiri’s visit to the Land of Israel would have been in
1562 CE.
[4] Zachariā Al-Ḏāhrī, Sefer Hammusar (ed. Yehuda Ratzaby), Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem 1965 (Hebrew), pp. 116-117
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Qaro,
Joseph ben Ephraim". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links
• Joseph b. Ephraim Caro (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=188&letter=C)
• Lecture on Yosef Karo by [[Henry Abramson|Dr. Henry Abramson (http://jewishhistorylectures.org/2012/01/
27/rabbi-yosef-karo-the-kabbalah-of-halakhah/Video)]]
Article Sources and Contributors 6
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