Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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זכות התורה תגן עליהם
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Chapter Two
Before the Arrival of Rabbi Karo 14
Chapter Three
The Bells of Toledo 24
Chapter Four
The Time in Portugal 40
Chapter Five
The Exiles from Spain in Constantinople 48
Chapter Six
The Idea of Legal Ruling 63
Chapter Seven
Searching through the Genizot 79
Chapter Eight
Leaving After an Argument 90
Chapter Nine
The Meeting with Shlomo Molcho 103
Chapter Ten
In the City of Salonika 114
Chapter Eleven
The Voice of the Maggid 129
Chapter Twelve
On the Way to Eretz Israel 151
Chapter Thirteen
The Air of the Hills of Galilee 163
Chapter Fourteen
The Ordination Controversy 179
Chapter Fifteen
The Writing of the Book Beit Yosef 196
Chapter Sixteen
Among the Kabbalists 206
Chapter Seventeen
With Don Yosef Nasi 217
Chapter Eighteen
The Rabbi of Safed 230
Chapter Nineteen
The Writing of the Shulhan Arukh 239
Chapter Twenty
The Migration of the Marranos to Safed 252
Chapter Twenty-One
Rabbi Yosef Karo and Rabbi Moshe Isserles 259
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Kessef Mishneh 272
Chapter Twenty-Three
Legal Discussions 283
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Ascent to Heaven 294
Chapter One
The fog that arose from the hills and enveloped the houses of
Safed was interlaced with silver threads carpeting the streets of
the city. The fog slowly rose over the houses in a whitish mist.
Dawn intruded on this pastoral scene, a dawn composed of
mysterious sparklings. It spread over the olive trees around the
city. The leaves of the trees were anointed with dew. Slumber
had cast a spell over the streets and alleys of the city. The
surrounding hills cast a look of glad tidings upon the city.
They rose up, one after the other, plying their silent secrets.
A few people arose with the dawn and made their way to
the synagogues, to study and meditate in seclusion.
Out of the fog, the voice of the crier could be heard,
awakening the city dwellers:
“Arise in honor of the L־rd, may He be blessed! The Divine
Presence is in exile, our holy Temple is in ashes, and Israel is
in great distress. The dawn has arisen, the time for prayer
has arrived!”
Within a short time the alleys were filled with people hurrying
to the synagogues, talit and tefilin under their arms.
The oil lamps were lit in the synagogues. The lights sprang
up within the lamps, while the city was still held in the grip of
the dark threads of the night, which were woven together with
the bright blue of the dawn.
The city was filled with the sound of mishnayot, the Zohar,
Psalms, the Prophets, prayers, entreaties.
When the fog dispersed and the light of day spread, the
worshipers, wrapped in their talitot, stood in the synagogues
and spoke with their Maker, in crying, in shouts, or in a
whispered melody.
The sounds of prayer rose from the synagogues and shook
the houses of the city and its narrow streets.
As the sounds spread out over the hills and fields, they
brought with them an atmosphere of mercy and forgiveness.
When the prayers ended, the worshipers sat around their tables
and engaged in study. Some of them learned from the books
of Maimonides, others from the aggadah in Ein Yaakov, and
others still mishnayot, law, the holy Zohar, or the Bible, all
this before going off to their trades.
After they finished their prayer and study, they felt purified,
ready to face their daily labors. Groups of people remained in
the synagogue the entire day, occupying themselves in the study
of the Zohar, after which they would go to prostrate themselves
on the tombs of the holy scholars.
During the winter, when the roads would be blocked by
torrents of flowing water, the men of Safed felt themselves cut
off from the world, as if they were living on a distant island,
far away from civilization, alone with themselves, awaiting
the Redemption and the Messiah. Some of them felt that the
Messiah must come from Galilee.
On Thursdays they would gather after the morning
Shaharit prayer in the great synagogue, pray for the exiled
Divine Presence, for the people of Israel, and for the destroyed
Temple. The sounds of a great wailing issued forth from the
synagogue, and shattered men”s hearts.
When the seventeenth of Tammuz neared, the righteous
would assemble in the synagogues, sit on the floor, and bewail
the destruction of the Temple for half the day. When they
completed the prayers for Divine mercy, the recitation of the
Thirteen Attributes, and Kaddish, they would gather together
in groups to recite Psalms.
They would pray for mercy for those at sea, and for the Jews
coming to Eretz Israel by sea or by land, lest evil befall them
on the way. They prayed for the well-being of the charitable
who sent money to the poor of Eretz Israel. Afterwards they
would pray for all of Israel throughout the world. Some would
continue to recite selihot and entreaties until sunset.
On the eve of each Rosh Hodesh, the beginning of the
new month, they would conduct prayers as if it were Yom
HaKippurim HaKatan, a “little Yom Kippur.’’
Safed was enveloped in an atmosphere of mystery. Its domed
houses descended the terraces of the hills, straddling the ridges
which were deep in slumber, while the peace and tranquility of
Galilee was visible on the faces of their inhabitants.
Although they were occupied in the study of the Torah
and Kabbalah, they did not ignore their livelihoods. Some
traveled throughout the villages as peddlers. Others were money
changers, buying and selling gold and silver.
Safed contained markets for produce, spices, cheeses, oil,
grains, and fruits. There were also marketplaces for clothes
and fabrics. The stores remained open until the night.
The Jews sat in the stores in the marketplaces and were
engaged in buying and selling. Between one purchaser and
another, they would study a holy book or recite a chapter of
Psalms.
In the schoolrooms the children were bent over their books,
learning Torah from the teachers who received their wages from
the community.
Fires glowed in the little houses towards evening. Smoke
arose from the chimneys from the baking of bread and flat
pittot. The women prepared supper, while the men, even the
scholars among them, would bring water from the spring in a
jug on their shoulders.
Secluded from the outside world, turning inwards, all of
Safed was as a single family.
People waited to hear the ringing of the bells of Redemption.
They saw in their mind”s eye how the Messiah would descend
from the hills of Galilee, riding on a donkey and proclaiming
the End of Days. Sometimes they went up to the tops of the
hills to await him, or descended into the caves and tombs of
the righteous to pray for the coming of the Redemption and
for the speedy arrival of the End of Days.
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Chapter Two
This grieved the sage Rabbi Yishmael, and he left Safed and
returned to Damascus, where he was honored by all the city”s
scholars.
Rabbi Yishmael had collected money in Damascus on behalf
of Rabbi Moshe Dayan”s yeshivah, but when he came to Safed,
the latter attacked him and would not let him teach in public,
as was the custom at the time.
The Mamluk authorities supported Rabbi Moshe Dayan.
Some said that he split with the authorities the taxes that he
collected from the members of the community for use by the
community.
Rabbi Yosef Alexandroni was distressed by this, but he
was powerless against Rabbi Moshe Dayan. The sages in Safed
who refused to accept Rabbi Moshe Dayan”s authority were
shamed by his actions against them. They turned to the Nagid
in Egypt, Rabbi Yitzhak Sholal, but he was afraid to intervene.
Rabbi Yosef Alexandroni wrote to his friends abroad, “Woe
to the generation with such a leader. He is as fit to judge it as
a rebellious elder. He is capable of doing all, whether rightly
or not.”
Rabbi Yosef Alexandroni”s appeal went unanswered. The
Mamluk authorities were pleased with Rabbi Moshe Dayan.
He was “the man whom the king wants to honor.” He ruled
the community, and others were forced to flee from him.
Safed
ו9
The ruins were rebuilt with the aid of the Egyptian Jews, and
the community was saved from total annihilation, but many left
the city because of the impending danger. As was their custom,
the Jews of Safed continued to pray and study on behalf of their
brethren in the Diaspora and their families in Galilee. They
awaited the coming of the Redemption, anxiously following
the progress of the war between the Mamluks and the Turks,
lest their neighbors fall upon them once again. Some of them
secretly prayed for the arrival of the Sultan and his troops.
A rumor reached their ears: “In the army of the Sultan
there is a Rabbi Moshe Hamon, the physician of the Sultan, a
Jew with a merciful heart, who is knowledgeable in Torah. He
extends his protection over the Jews wherever they are.’’
The days were ones of change. The battles continued, but
it seemed that the end of the Mamluk rule was near, and that
the Ottoman Empire would come to rule the Galilee city.
The war between the Mamluks and the Turks caused the
Jews in Safed to expect the imminent arrival of the Messiah.
The sages of Safed sought to determine, by interpreting signs
in dreams, whether the Sultan would succeed in conquering
the Mamluk forces, for they hoped for an improvement in
their situation. Some said that the change of government would
hasten the time of the Messiah, for Turkey was favorably
inclined towards the Jews and opened its gates to the exiles
from Spain.
The Jews of Safed pinned many hopes on the victories of
the Turks.
The days in Safed moved between the throes of one sinking
empire and the rise of the new power conquering the East.
The study halls of Safed buzzecj with news and rumors.
“Turkey has won, and is coming to Safed.’’
“The Messiah will come from Galilee,’’ someone else said.
One sage who sought to discover in a dream whether Turkey
would conquer Egypt received in reply the verse: “And this
shall be peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land.’’
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The sage searched, and found the verse in the Book of Micah
(5:4).
The sages did not understand the meaning of the verse. They
argued over its meaning until one sage, who was masterful in
his knowledge of the meanings of Biblical verses, solved the
riddle.
“Until the Sultan Salim will consolidate his rule over
Anatolia, which is Assyria, and then there will be peace.’’
Nevertheless, the sages were doubtful regarding the solution
of the question, and continued to discuss what was signified by
the Turkish victories.
The anticipation of the Messiah’’s coming from Galilee
increased. Some Jews went to seclude themselves in the hills,
to await the Messiah with prayers and entreaties.
Once again this sage was asked to discover hidden meanings
in a dream. He girded himself like a lion, fasted and afflicted
himself, prayed with great devotion, and mentioned esoteric
allusions, letters, and verses. He encloaked everything in mystical
intent and sought to learn, would the Turk be victorious and
conquer Eretz Israel, arriving at the gates of Egypt?
These preparations by the sage aided him to receive an
answer in a dream. Once again, he was answered with a verse:
’’And a fierce (oz) king shall rule over them.” The sage looked
for the verse, and found it in the Book of Isaiah (19:4). He
sought interpretations for the verse. He found great numbers of
interpretations, and labored greatly until he found the answer
to his question: In the year 77 {ayin-zayin, i.e., 5377 [ 1517) the
government of Salim will rule in Egypt,
“Then the days of the Messiah will draw near,” a rumor
spread among the community.
Time dragged on and the battles between the Mamluks and
the Turks continued, until the Mamluks abandoned Galilee and
the Turkish soldiers conquered Safed.
A different spirit filled Safed, a spirit of things which were
about to happen, a spirit of great days.
The war left its mark on Safed. The city suffered looting
and rebellions by the peasants. But once the government took
firm control, the community arose from the ashes. The Jews
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Chapter Three
The decree did not permit the exiles to take with them silver
or gold, nor coins, only goods. Their homes, with no buyers,
were free for the taking. The king confiscated the lands of
Jews, claiming that they owed debts to the monks. (Officially,
the decree had permitted the Jews to dispose of their property
as they chose.)
The exiles set out on foot and in wagons towards the coasts,
to find ships. The elderly, women, and children walked with
their bundles on their shoulders. Others rode on horseback.
In the middle of their journey, when they rested from their
walking, they stood to pray. Even those who in normal times
never entered the synagogue joined in the prayers.
This was a historic moment: the moment when the Children
of Israel left Spain.
A great silence hung over the exiles. They did not feel
themselves to be humbled, but rather disappointed with the
people in whose midst they had lived and whom they had
loved. This people had betrayed them, and had not extended
aid in their hour of distress.
After the afternoon Minhah prayer, a distinguished elderly
man ascended a small hill and proclaimed in a trembling voice:
“Cursed be the man of Israel who returns to the impure land
of Spain.”
“Cursed! Cursed!” the exiles repeated after him.
A small boy walked slowly among the long line of exiles. His
name was Yosef. He was the son of Ephraim Karo, a Torah
scholar, one of the leaders of the Toledo community.
The pictures which flashed before his eyes were seared in
his memory. His heart, the heart of a small child, absorbed the
crying of the exiles, who had found no rest for their weary feet
since they had been sent away from their land.
He saw the exiles as the children of kings going into exile.
The father. Rabbi Ephraim, carried his son on his shoulders.
“Let me down,” he said, “I”m strong enough to walk.” He
wanted to save his father”s strength.
The father set him down and took his hand, and the two
walked along with the other exiles.
As the father walked he silently recited chapters of Psalms.
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The child heard the verses issuing forth from his father”s mouth.
Rabbi Ephraim recited verses all along the way.
Next to him marched his uncle, Rabbi Yitzhak Karo, one of
the leading scholars of Toledo, and their wives, children, and
relatives.
Along both sides of the road there were hills and small
forests in which the exiles rested from their walking, and ate
their meals.
The mother of little Yosef prepared food for him from what
she had brought with her in her bag, but he ate little, despite
her entreaties to him to eat more.
When they were walking, they met people from another city,
who joined them.
“Where are you going?’’ they asked.
“To Portugal!” Rabbi Ephraim answered them.
“We are going to Italy. We can find a peaceful place there,
under the protection of the king of Naples.”
In the meantime, they walked together. Yosef met young
boys from other places, and when the camp rested he would
play children”s games with them.
The other children saw this as just a pleasant outing. Yosef,
however, felt a touch of sadness. He would become immersed
within himself. As he sat next to his father, he heard his father”s
words, as well as those of his uncle Rabbi Yitzhak, as he walked
alongside them the entire journey.
One old man who was going with them dropped out of the
march route. Sick and in pain, he died along the way. He was
buried properly, in the shade of one of the hills.
Yosef was in pain. His face was white from the rigors of the
journey. His eyes were as blue as the sea, and he looked at the
world through them with a look of mercy.
Tears dripped from his eyes and he burst out crying. His
mother hugged him. “Here, here, my son, it will only be a
little while until we come to the inn.”
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wretched exiles, but like the sons of kings, with their heads held
high.”
They accepted the expulsion wholeheartedly, just so long as
they would not have to convert. They were both angry and sad
about their brethren who had remained in Spain and accepted
the Christian religion. Most of them were simple folk. Some
were rich people, who cared for their money and property.
Outwardly they accepted Christianity, while they maintained
their Judaism at home. The relatives of the exiles among them
received from them their property in order to guard it. Some
of the Marranos accompanied them a long part of their way
into Exile.
When they came to a crossroads, they met exiles from other
places.
A converted Jew, who had accepted Christianity to attain
wealth and honor, stood among them with a large crucifix on
his breast. He spoke to the exiles, attempting to convince them
to accept the Christian faith. He read to them verses from
the Torah, interpreting them falsely to “prove” the truth of
Christianity.
The exiles asked Rabbi Ephraim Karo to answer the convert.
Rabbi Ephraim feared to dispute with him, lest word of this come
to the ears of the priests, who would then arrest him. Therefore
he advised all the exiles to think of words of Torah while they
had to listen to his preaching.
The convert would not leave the exiles. He walked after them
and exhorted them to accept Christianity. The exiles walked
and remained silent, as Rabbi Ephraim had advised them.
Little Yosef burst out crying at the same time. His mother
made no attempt to quiet him this time. His cries silenced the
convert.
The convert walked along, and the Jews went along in
silence. Upon hearing Yosef’s cries, other children in the long
line of exiles also began crying, until their voices drowned out
the words of the convert.
When the exiles reached a crossroads, they discussed among
themselves the question, Which way to go?
Rabbi Ephraim and Rabbi Yitzhak decided to go to Portugal.
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Safed
33
She gave him something to eat, and he calmed down and fell
asleep.
The sights of the previous day were engraved in his mind.
From time to time he woke up, crying. Other children also
lay down between the trees, bundled up in their clothes for
warmth.
The next day, as soon as it was light, they prayed Shaharit.
Tears rolled down Rabbi Ephraim”s cheeks when he thought
of the bitter Exile. He shook with emotion. Rabbi Yitzhak
stood, enveloped within himself. A cloud hovered over the
camp of refugees in the forest. Thy told about a certain Jew
who was about to set out with the exiles, but was deterred at
the last minute. He feared exile and wandering over the face
of the earth. No one knew his fate. They told of the head of
a community who could not resist the temptation, and issued
a proclamation to the members of his community, not to set
out for exile, but rather to accept Christianity. Perhaps he did
this after being tortured, or perhaps he was weak of character.
There was a widespread rumor that there was livelihood in
Egypt. The Jews living there were wealthy, and they warmly
received the exiles. Exiles from Spain who had come to Egypt
had done well from the moment they had arrived there. The
Nagid of the Jews, who was a wealthy man, supported them
and spent his money on them.
“Perhaps we should go to Egypt to find refuge?” Rabbi
Ephraim asked his brother Rabbi Yitzhak.
“Since we have decided to go to Portugal, let us continue on
this way, for we have relatives there,” Rabbi Yitzhak replied.
“We have heard a rumor that Rabbi Yaakov Berab, the
leading scholar of our time, has gone to Egypt.”
“I also have heard such a rumor,” Rabbi Ephraim said.
“Would it not be proper to follow in his footsteps?” Rabbi
Yitzhak asked.
“Yes. Rabbi Yaakov Berab”s personality attracts me.
Nevertheless, I fear what will befall us in Egypt. It is a land with
a different culture, while Portugal is closer to the conditions
under which we lived in Spain. It will be easier to continue our
life in Portugal, while in Egypt we will have to start everything
35
Since the rumor had spread that Rabbi Yitzhak and Rabbi
Ephraim were going to Lisbon, many of their pupils who had
studied in Rabbi Yitzhak”s yeshivah in Castille went along with
them.
The pupils were devoted to Rabbi Yitzhak and did not want
to leave him. The parents of some of them went to other lands,
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while they followed their teacher; other pupils came with their
families to Lisbon.
One pupil was forced to part from Rabbi Yitzhak, because
he could not leave his parents, who were elderly and sick. The
pupil and teacher embraced and bid a tearful farewell to each
other. Before they parted, Rabbi Yitzhak told him, “My dear
pupil! Wherever you are, remember the words of Torah you
learned in Castille. They will illuminate your path in the long
Exile, throughout all your wanderings.’’
His pupil agreed with him, and added, “When I come to
our new land, if I will be able to fulfill my obligations to my
parents and leave them in trustworthy hands, I will immediately
come to you in Lisbon, to continue to study where we left
off.’’
“My pupils are as light to my eyes. I have learned more
from them than from anyone else,” Rabbi Yitzhak said.
The pupils gathered around him and supported him, lest he
stumble on the way.
The pupils, the Karo family, and the heads of the Castillian
communities went on. All the way they talked about the events
of the Expulsion. Some of them recited chapters of Psalms,
others studied mishnayot from memory, and others discussed
the last lesson of Rabbi Yitzhak that they had heard in the
yeshivah.
Rabbi Yitzhak meditated on the Redemption.
“Perhaps the Expulsion is connected with the birth pangs of
the Redemption,” he said to himself, with his pupils listening
to his words.
“Yes, the Redemption is fast approaching, in the light of the
sufferings we have undergone,” Rabbi Ephraim added to the
discussion.
They continued walking, their bags on their backs. Once
again little Yosef burst out crying, because his friends had
taken from him the twigs he had found on the way. The parents
came and made peace between the children. They took a twig
from one of them, peeled it, and it looked like new. By the
time Yosef took it he stopped crying, because it looked nicer
than the other ones.
57
החצר הפנימית בביתו של שמואל הלוי אבולעפיה בטולדו ,מי שהיה שר הכספים של
מלך קאס טיליה,פדרו האכזר,ב שנים . 1350 — 1369הצייר אלגרקורבש את הבית שהיה
ידוע בשם ״הארמון הי הו די״ — וגר בו .עכשיו הוא נקרא — ״בית גרקו״.
Chapter Four
“Why has all this trouble come upon us?” he asked his
brother, Rabbi Yitzhak.
“Perhaps because of assimilation? The Jews in Spain and
Portugal began to love the country and the people in whose
midst they dwelt.”
“They wanted to be like these peoples. They spoke their
language and learned their customs,” Rabbi Yitzhak replied.
“When will we leave?” asked Rabbi Ephraim.
“We are waiting for a ship which will arrive shortly. We
have already made contact with the scholars in Turkey. The
communities from Spain are awaiting our arrival, and will
prepare a place for us.”
The Turkish empire was the shore of hope, in which freedom
reigned. The Jews in this empire fulfilled the commandments
freely, with no one standing in their way.
Proposals to go to another country in Europe were brought
before the brothers, but they had had enough of all the places
inhabited by Christians. They wanted to flee from the terrors of
the Church, which had imposed the yoke of exile on them.
Little Yosef listened to the conversations between his father
and his uncle, and absorbed whatever they said. The great
fear which seized the family influenced him as well. With his
child”s eyes and senses he understood what was happening.
The prospect of a life of wandering did not trouble the boy.
They saw an entire people sinking in the impurity of
conversion, but they were helpless to stem the tide. Whenever
anyone asked their advice, they answered that the best path
of action was to leave the country, in order to preserve their
Judaism. There was no hope for Jewish life under the rule
of the Church. Whoever thought that he could maintain his
Judaism in secret was making a great mistake. The pressure of
his surroundings would be too much for him and his children.
Ships arrived in Lisbon. Great numbers of Jews embarked on
a life of wandering.
Yosef saw extensive preparations in his parent”s house for
the journey. Furniture was taken apart, packages were packed.
When he met his friends, he discovered that the parents of some
of them as well were making preparations to leave the country.
44
Chapter Five
house and went to live someplace else. They were afraid that
the priests would search for me, even though they didn’t even
know my name. Afterwards we hid in a house in a remote
village, near the seashore. In the middle of the night we went
in a small boat to the ship that we sailed on. I never saw
Portugal again. The voyage took a long time. I was nauseous,
I vomited, I couldn’t eat until the ship anchored. We went down
from the ship, and we didn’t know which way to go. The shore
was a long way off. Finally, we met some other Jews and they
took us to their neighborhood, where we found a house.”
Yosefs friends told him many things about what they had
undergone in Spain or Portugal. Some had been baptized,
and remembered the experience as a nightmare; others had
managed to evade being baptized by all kinds of stratagems;
others had hidden; still others had gone about openly, with no
one suspecting that they were Jews. Now they all were diligently
studying in the Talmud Torah.
Since his uncle Rabbi Yitzhak had lost his own children,
he treated Yosef as if he were his own son. Rabbi Yitzhak
took him with him everywheres. Yosef listened to all of Rabbi
Yitzhak’s discussions of points of law with other scholars.
Yosef walked around in the streets of Constantinople. He
met other children his age, and talked to them in Spanish or
Portuguese.
When he entered the Talmud Torah, he devoted himself to
his studies. His teachers were pleased with him. He listened to
what his teachers told his father, who came to take him home
from the Talmud Torah. “You can be proud of your son. He is
talented and knows what we are studying,” his teacher told his
father.
“Praise to the L־rd,” his father replied.
“Take good care of the boy. A great future lies ahead of
him,” the teacher said.
“Yes, I know. He understands things quickly, and has a
good memory,” his father said.
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The letters stood before his eyes, the words penetrated into
his mind, his thought was clear. At the hour that he left his
home for the study hall, he would meet workers who arose
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Chapter Six
day he delved into the treasures of the Torah and revealed new
things. His world revolved around this.
Although he cut himself off from his surroundings, he was
known throughout the world. Renowned rabbis addressed legal
queries to him. His responses were noted for their shortness
and clarity. At times he would not cite the sources. He relied
on the fact that the person sending the query was a Torah
scholar and would search for the sources himself if he wanted
to know them. At other times, however. Rabbi Yosef would
cite the sources for his ruling in order to provide a basis for
his opinion, if he thought that this was necessary.
He still thought of writing his great book, the book of legal
rulings. He wrote down things and collected other things. Every
day he wrote down legal rulings. He knew that this book would
occupy him for many years.
His diligence knew no bounds, He would stay in the study hall
from morning till night, not stopping his studies for a minute.
The other people in the study hall would stare at him in
amazement: how did he have the strength to sit in the study
hall nonstop, day and night? Some of them came to him and
said, out of concern for him, “Rabbi Yosef, perhaps it is time
to breathe fresh air, to go to the shore to swim in the ocean,
to see the world outside the study hall.”
“I am still at the beginning of the Torah, I have not yet
managed to learn a single chapter,” was his response.
He would wake up every morning with the fierce desire to
study Torah. He was possessed by the wish to master the entire
Talmud, not to miss a single page, so that he could write his
great work. He learned that he could rely on his memory.
Whatever he had learned was at his total recall, as if he had
studied it that very minute.
During his youth his uncle Rabbi Yitzhak supervised him,
so that he would not overly exert himself. He went with him
to the study hall and brought him his meals. Now that his
uncle-teacher had died, he had to care for his own needs, and
this bothered him.
He ate little and slept little. He devoted himself entirely to
the study of the Torah.
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discuss Torah all the time. He wanted to fulfill this dream and
ascend to the holy mountains, where he would find his soul
and where he would find worthy companions.
He sat on a log with the waves washing his feet, thinking,
looking out at the horizon, breathing the sea air. He thought
of himself and his way of life. He dreamed his dreams, thought
of the new interpretations he had composed that day and the
preceding day. He longed for the atmosphere of Eretz Israel,
for the company of Torah scholars and Kabbalists, but they
were distant from him and he was distant from them. The sea,
the great sea full of ships, separated between them.
walking along the shore, new ideas came into my mind. I need
a group of Torah scholars and Kabbalists, to study together
with them. Perhaps we will go together to Eretz Israel to
live, there we will ascend to a higher spiritual level. I feel
lonely. There are not many Torah scholars in this city, and we
certainly cannot find Kabbalists who will occupy themselves
with hastening the Redemption.”
“There is a proper time for everything,” Itamar responded.
“All the time I was alone by the shore I heard the pealing
of bells. I can“t free myself from them, they are still ringing
in my ears. It is as if they are calling me to do a great
deed.”
“Your great deed is the very act of studying, and the expertise
you acquire in the sea of the Talmud and its commentaries.”
“Yes, but this is only preparation for the great deed.”
“It will come, it will come, but you must not neglect yourself
now. Remember the verse, ‘For your own sake, therefore, be
careful.’ If you keep engaging in fasts and mortifications, you
will not have the strength to do any great deeds.”
“You are right, the way before us is long, we still are only
at the beginning.”
His great project took shape in his mind. He saw before him
a long series of books, rulings, and laws, on the entire Talmud.
But he was consumed by doubts, because of the comment
of a Torah scholar who saw him studying the poskim in the
study hall. The scholar said to him: “If you write a short
book of all the rulings and laws, I fear that people will neglect
the study of the Torah, and will make do with the study of
the rulings only. Why should they toil day and night over
the volumes of the Talmud, when there is a book containing
all the rulings and laws open before them?”
“My book will be meant for scholars who have already
studied the Talmud,” Yosef answered.
“But what will prevent any common person from studying
your book and saying, T am expert in the Talmud, I have
learned to deliver rulings’ ”
“I won“t have anything to do with such frivolous people,”
he asserted.
“You must think about the consequences of the publication
of such a book.”
“But there already are hundreds of books by the poskim,
and no one has has ever said not to write such books, because
of the fear that people will not study the Talmud.”
“Yes, that is so. But you plan to write a much more detailed
book than any of the others.”
“I have not yet decided upon the contents of the book. It
might be notes on the other books by poskim, or a book of
rulings, or a summary of all the poskim in one book.”
He was assailed by doubts. He discussed this with Itamar. His
friend told him, “You don“t have any reason to worry. Whoever
wants to serve as a rabbi will need your book. Whoever wants
to study Torah will study the Talmud; if they were to give
this up, they would not be able to understand the poskim.
You don“t have to worry about frivolous people. They won“t
be able to understand your book without having studied the
Talmud.”
A great weight was taken off him. He saw that his generation
needed such a work. Many queries were directed to him. Rabbis
from important communities turned to him, knowing that he
75
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79
Chapter Seven
small town, where no one would know him, and where he could
sit by himself and study, but his ties with friends and relatives
prevented him from taking such a step.
He spent his time swimming in the sea of Torah, and he did
not sense that he was getting older. His friends came and tried
to match him up.
“Yosef the Sage! It is not good for man to be alone. I
have a distinguished girl from a good home to propose to you.
She is good-hearted, sincere, and suits your wisdom and piety.
She will not interfere with your studies,” they said to him.
Many scholars offered their daughters to him, but he was
not yet convinced that the time was ripe for this. He did not
accept any of the offers.
Since he did not give a definite “No” to any of the offers,
the matchmakers did not know what to think.
He was alone, and so the neighbors invited him for Sabbath
meals. They also troubled him with offers of matches.
He sought a wife who would appreciate his constant studying,
who would not raise obstacles in his path, who would allow him
to continue his way of life of studying, abstinence, isolation,
and afflictions. How would he find such a wife? She would have
to be the daughter of an outstanding scholar, who had seen
such a way of life at home, and who had absorbed the spirit
of Torah; who would be blessed with understanding, wisdom,
and piety; who would be righteous, the daughter of a righteous
mother, who had been educated to honesty and humility.
When a scholar came and offered Yosef a match, he would
tell him what he wanted — how the bride would have to act
and what he wanted from his life, and he asked whether she
was willing to accept this. Sometimes the matchmakers would
return and say that the girl was not willing to agree to his
demands. Other times they came back with the agreement of
the girl and her parents to his requests. But he was afraid
that this agreement was insincere, and that after the wedding it
would be forgotten. He needed a wife who very being radiated
honesty.
The people who came to him with offers left empty-handed.
His senses told him that they were not offering him the wife he
8s
Yosef was convinced that the path he had set for himself
was the right one. Due to the differing practices, the Torah
was in danger of becoming many different teachings.
He had to prepare himself for this mission, both intellectually
and spiritually. A life of modesty and physical afflictions was
the best preparation for the writing of a collection of all the
laws, in order to join together all the communities and prevent
quarrels.
This period of preparation would be a lengthy one. During
this period he would need rest, not to be disturbed by life”s
concerns. This is the reason why he did not accept a position
as a rabbi. When he was sent questions about the law he would
reply, but he did not want to accept upon himself a formal
position.
Being alone did not bother him. He needed solitude to delve
into the depths of the works he studied. He could not do this
if he was weighed down by the burdens of a family. He still
did not know when he would be ready to take pen and paper
in hand and start to write. In the meantime, he sorted out the
laws, according to the questions which he received.
Many communities of Spanish Jews asked him to serve as
their rabbi. He turned down all the offers. The time was not
ripe for this. He wanted to head an academy where he would
lecture to his students, teach then how to think, and impart
to them everything he had learned. But the establishment of
such an academy required time and money. He had neither of
these, and so he continued in his daily routine, from his home
to the study hall and back.
with having to earn his livelihood, he decided that the time had
come to write his book, Beit Yosef.
He needed a great deal of rest, and a place for the many books
he would require while writing the book. A small room was
found for him in the study hall in the city. There, in the
attic room, he sat and wrote, surrounded by piles of books.
He would spend days on end there, hidden behind his books.
His wife would bring his meals to the study hall, so he could
maintain his strength. She stood by him and supported him, as
she had promised.
The members of the community came from Italy, Spain,
Germany. The exiles from these lands had come to Adrianople
to find a place of refuge. The Jews led a comfortable life in
the city. They dealt in commerce and trades. The Jews from
Italy built three synagogues: “Italy,” “Apollia,” and “Sicily.”
The exiles from Spain built seven synagogues, which they
named after the cities from which they came: Arnon, Catalonia,
Maracai, Toledo, Ibora, and Portugalia. One synagogue was
named ''G eirushf after the Exile (geirush) from Spain.
Chapter Eight
throughout the world, met with kings and rulers, and asked
that they help the People of Israel to return to its land. This
young man, whose name was Shlomo Molcho, inflamed the
imagination of the yeshivah students, who wanted to meet
him and offer him support, and they invited him to come to
Nikopol.
Students from the yeshivah went to meet him in the cities
which he visited. They brought greetings from the young man,
whom they described as handsome, looking like a nobleman. He
had been brought up as a Marrano, distant from the Torah, but
the spark of Judaism had awakened in him. He had returned
to his religion, and devoted himself to the idea of Redemption
and the reestablishment of the Jewish kingdom in Eretz Israel.
The students asked their teacher whether to invite Molcho
to Nikopol. He agreed to meet him, for he saw in him a
spark of the renewed Jewish kingdom. Rabbi Yosef admired
his devotion to the idea of Redemption, for the good of his
people.
At this time Rabbi Yosef thought of aliyah, going up to
live in Eretz Israel. Tidings had come from the city of Safed,
of groups of Kabbalists who had gathered in this city in
anticipation of the Redemption. Some of them were Marranos
who had fled from Spain and Portugal and returned to Judaism.
They saw the persecutions of the Jews in these countries as
preparation for the Redemption.
Reports came from Salonika of a group of Kabbalists who
were planning to go to Eretz Israel and settle in Safed, in
order to delve deeply into the Kabbalah and the teachings of
Redemption. Rabbi Yosef wanted to meet this group and go to
Salonika to join it.
בסו
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Sages and scribes filled the entire city of Salonika. There were
dozens of synagogues. Each synagogue belonged to those who
had come from a certain community in Spain and maintained
their customs in Salonika.
The synagogues were filled with worshipers and those
studying Torah. Scholars delivered sermons to the public in
them. From time to time Marranos who had secretly fled from
Spain and Portugal came to the city, seeking refuge among
the members of the community. The Turkish government was
tolerant of the Jews. Under its protection the Jews engaged in
commerce, importing and exporting goods through the port.
The Jews were at the heart of the city”s economic life. The
Turkish authorities viewed the Jews as a loyal element, as
opposed to the Greeks who were in constant revolt against the
authorities, demanding freedom for themselves.
The sages who sat in the study halls received a stipend from
the Vaad (committee) of the community, leaving them free to
study Torah. Some were outstanding sages. There were also
Kabbalists among them. They occupied themselves with the
hidden Torah, and engaged in fasting and self-mortification.
Rabbi Yosef sought to live among this company, and draw
wisdom from them.
The day that he arrived in Salonika with his family, he joined
this band of Kabbalists, spending his days and his nights with
them. He could feel holiness and spiritual elevation in the air.
He heard that the Kabbalists were about to go up to Eretz
Israel, to live in the holy city of Safed in Upper Galilee with
its Kabbalistic center, close to the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar
Yohai, the author of the Zohar, and his son. He wanted to
be among them, to go to Eretz Israel together with them, and
to be nourished by the holiness of Eretz Israel. This was the
reason why he had left his community, which had provided for
his every want.
1 ו5
Salonika port
122
He left the port and boarded the ship. He left in Salonika his
books and manuscripts on philosophy and Kabbalah, which he
had used when writing his sermons. He hoped that in Italy he
would be able to purchase new books from the large publishing
houses in Venice.
He was accustomed to speak with kings and princes about
the coming Redemption. He knew their manners and ways,
and therefore was not deterred from coming to their courts.
He would prophesy to them about the future. They viewed
him as a prophet who could reveal the secrets of the future.
Sometimes when his arrival was known beforehand, people
would stream to his door, asking help for a barren woman,
solace for a widow, a cure for the sick. They gave him a piece
of paper with the names of the suffering and the unfortunate.
He would read the paper, seclude himself, and return to the
relatives waiting outside. He smiled at them, and they returned
home, happy. His smile was worth the world to them, because
he must have smiled with the knowledge that his prayer was
accepted.
Rabbi Yosef Karo looked at him fondly. He interrupted his
studies to accompany him to the ship. He saw in him a great,
sensitive, profound soul, who cares for the general welfare. A
soul that returned from the world of chaos, and which would
return to heaven, after publicly sanctifying the Name of G־d.
When the ship slowly set sail, leaving the port, Shlomo stood
on the deck and waved goodbye to those who had accompanied
him.
On the shore, they stood and cried out: “Molcho is a
harbinger of good tidings. He will lead us to the Holy Land.”
This group included Jewish port workers, sailors, porters,
and customs officials. They saw him as a regal figure. Other
people looked at this scene in amazement.
Rabbi Yosef Karo, together with a few pupils, left the port
and returned to the study hall.
125
law, the Rif (Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi), the rambam (Rabbi Moses
ben Maimon) and the Rosh (Rabbeinu Asher).
Many of his pupils had followed him from Nikopol to
Salonika. They gathered around him and asked that he continue
to teach them. He agreed and opened a yeshivah for them. This
yeshivah was called “the Study Hall of the Perfect Sage, Rabbi
Yosef Karo.”
Rabbi Yosef Taitazak and Rabbi Shmuel Taitazak were his
friends. He discussed Torah with them and prayed with them.
He felt good to be in their company, and to receive from them
their teaching on the revealed and the secret Torah. He said
to himself, “My life would be complete, even if I had done
nothing more than come to Salonika and meet them.”
He spent much of each day together with them in the study
hall, along with the students. A deadly plague broke out in
Salonika and claimed many victims. Every day heart-rending
cries were heard from a different house. The plague reached
Rabbi Yosef Karo’s house, and his three children succumbed.
Overwhelmed by the tragedy that had befallen him, he sought
refuge in the study hall with his books. He did not set foot
outside the study hall, and he did not exchange a word with
anyone. His wife mourned day and night and could not recover
from this blow. They were more precious than gold, with curly
hair. All day they played - and in the night they fell victim
to the plague. He raised a tombstone over their grave.
He thought once again of going to Eretz Israel, perhaps
there he would find solace from the disasters that had befallen
him.
Chapter Eleven
The Voice of th M a g g i d
chastises man, have come to speak to you. If you had been ten
together, you would have ascended further. But for all this you
have ascended. Hhappy are you and happy are your children,
my friends, who have ascended and kept sleep from your eyes,
and through you I have ascended this night, and through the
friends in this great city, a mother of Jewish communities.”
The voice continued to speak until it called on all those
present to stand up and call aloud, “Blessed be the Name of
His glorious kingdom forever and ever.”
The members of the group called aloud, and when they
finished reciting this, the voice told them:
“Happy are you, return to your studies and do not stop for
a single moment.”
They continued to study the Mishnah, and once again they
heard the voice speaking to them:
“Go up to Eretz Israel, because not all times are equal, and
there is no hindrance to saving, whether many or few. Do not
care for your possessions, because you will eat of the bounty
of the upper earth. Therefore make haste and go up, for I
provide your livelihood and I will continue to provide your
livelihood, and all will be well with you, with your homes, and
with all that is yours.” When the voice ceased speaking, silence
reigned, and then all those assembled burst into tears of joy.
Rabbi Yosef was in contact with the holy Ari and with
Rabbi Yaakov Berab in Safed. He also was in contact with
the Radbaz (Rabbi David ben Shlomo ibn Abi Zimra) and
Avraham Ashkenazi, the rabbi of Cairo.
They all encouraged him to go to Eretz Israel and settle in
Safed.
The Maggid continued to appear to him at night when he sat
in the study hall to learn. He spoke with him about his going
to Eretz Israel, and he assured him that he would complete his
work there.
Every Shabbat eve the Maggid appeared to him and warned
him not to leave the study of Mishnah for a single moment,
not even to eat and drink for pleasure, for of what benefit are
the joys of this world?
He continued to talk with him about his going up to Eretz
Israel: “If you will conduct yourself as I have instructed you, you
will merit to complete your entire work, with its commentaries
and decisions, without errors, and to publish it, so that it will
spread throughout all Israel. Everything that you have asked
from the L־rd will be granted. I will merit you so that the
verse will be fulfilled, for you and your family, ‘This book
of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.’ I will give
you from your modest wife a pious and wise son, for you are
deserving of this because of the troubles you have undergone.
Because you will separate yourself from the pleasures of this
world, as I have instructed you, and sanctify yourself while
with your wife, as it was said of Rabbi Eliezer, that it was as
if a demon had compelled him, you will thereby merit to draw
down from Gan Eden a pure and holy soul, who will become a
great scholar. After your wife dies you will marry two women,
one after the other, and they will bear you wise sons, who will
know the L־rd and His Torah. I will greatly build up your
yeshivah there.’’
Rabbi Yosef took the words of the Maggid to heart. This
put pressure on him to go soon to Eretz Israel, in order to
complete his book. He saw in his mind’’s eye a large study
hall in Eretz Israel, in the hills of Galilee, filled with students,
while he delivered his lesson before them. He had still not freed
137
himself from the depression that had stricken him after the
death of his children. He craved children. Since the Maggid had
promised him children, he knew that the air of Eretz Israel
would help him. The controversy in the communities from
which he had fled still troubled him. His living in Salonika was
pleasant, but he knew that this was only a stopping place on
the way to Eretz Israel. There he would rest after the distress
that had struck him after the death of his children in the
plague.
The Maggid did not leave him. He spoke with him every
time that Rabbi Yosef studied Mishnah by himself in the study
hall.
The students would hear the voice of the Maggid through the
door. They were astonished by the powerful, penetrating voice.
This is how the voice began: “Greetings to you, Rabbi Yosef
Karo. I am the Mishnah that you have learned. I have come
forth to teach you wisdom. How proud of you is the Holy
One, blessed be He, in the Heavenly Court. He says, ‘My
son Yosef, thus and thus are his deeds, thus and thus are his
ways. Thus is his diligence in his studies.’ And I, the Mishnah,
have seen the place that has been prepared for you in Paradise.
How many comforts and delicacies are appointed for you. Be
strong and of good courage in fearing the L־rd.’’
Rabbi Yosef would be frightened at the sound of the voice.
He would listen to it every night, understand what was said,
and write it down in a book.
At times the Maggid would speak at length, giving moral
instruction, so much so that Rabbi Yosef would tremble upon
hearing his words. The Maggid possessed great secrets, but he
was hesitant to reveal them, and for a long time he would repeat
his introduction, saying, “The secret of the matter is, the secret
of the matter is,” until he would finally reveal the secret itself.
The Maggid promised him that “Miracles will be performed
by you, just as by the Tannaim, so that the people of your
generation will know that there is G־d in Israel.”
158
about the skhakh covering the sukkah, and other laws regarding
the sukkah.
“The requirement that the skhakh be from something that
grows in the earth alludes to the sukkah being from the land of
the living. But why is something that is still connected to the
ground unfit? You would think that this is an even stronger
allusion to it being from the world of the living!”
The voice of the Maggid stopped after asking this question,
before it continued with the answer: “The reason is because
something that is attached to the ground is nourished from
the bottom up, while the opposite is true for something that is
nourished from the Divine spheres. The requirement that the
sukkah not be lower than ten tefahim (handbreadths) alludes to
it being surrounded by the Ten Spheres.” The Maggid continued
to speak about the spheres, and gave different reasons for the
height of the skhakh. He warned him that his heart should not
be too high, and that he should take care not to become angry
at anything.
The Maggid then proceeded to talk at length about the
etrog and lulav and the secrets the Four Species contain.
The Maggid would warn and instruct him how to conduct
himself, when to study and how much to study. The
Maggid determined his entire daily schedule.
“The schedule that you must follow: study mishnayot so
that you will always be fluent in them. Go over the order of
Zeraim on Shabbat eve. If you do not finish, take some of
the day and read all of it before breakfast. Read the Order
of Taharot twice each week, in this manner: once on Tuesday,
and the second time on Friday. Do not leave out the weekly
Torah portion ־־twice Torah and once the Targum — every
Friday. Read the Order of Kodashim twice each week, once
on Tuesday and once on Shabbat. Follow the same schedule
for the other Orders. Do this for at least one year.”
The Maggid praised him for his study of mishnayot: ”Happy
are you for having brought down the Divine plenty and for
having built several worlds. The reading of mishnayot for their
own sake is the cause. You do not know how many worlds
you build in one hour of reading, and how many good spiritual
141
levels you establish. Happy are you that you have merited this.
Happy are you in this world, and it will be good for you in the
World to Come.”
The Maggid advised him to read a chapter of the book Hovot
HaLevavot each day, in order to overcome the Evil Urge. He
warned him against eating meat and drinking wine, “for they
are the cause of many lost souls.”
The Maggid would tell him promises for the future, things
which Rabbi Yosef had never before heard.
“You shall have many pupils, more than any other sage
ו42
today, and any pupil who has not studied in your yeshivah will
not be regarded as possessing any knowledge. Your pupils will
glow with the brilliance of the skies. Therefore, My son, listen to
My voice, heed what I command you. Adhere to Me always,
and let all the organs and limbs of your body be devoted
to Me. The early ones, who totally adhered to Me, merited
having their limbs and bodies in the camp of the Shekhinah.
Nothing harmed them, and no worms or corruption touched
their bodies, as was the case with Rabbi Eliezer the son of
Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Ahai the son of Yashiya. As King
David said, ‘My flesh dwells in safety.’ You will also merit to
be sacrificed for the sanctification of My Name. Your ashes
will be piled up as a pleasing sacrifice on My altar, to glorify
Me.”
When the Maggid spoke with him about the portion of
Miketz, he revealed to him that ‘‘all the members of the
Heavenly Court have sent me to you, to tell you the most
hidden of secrets on the portion. The seven good cows and the
seven bad sheaves are an allusion to the seven heavenly spheres.
The L-rd has created one against the other. Only to you have
these secrets been revealed, which are capable of destroying the
entire world.”
Once again the Maggid warned him against food and drink,
and to guard himself against the Evil Urge, the serpent, and
Sammael, who all pursued him. Once again, he told him that
he had been sent by the Heavenly Court to reveal to him
the deepest of secrets, the most hidden mysteries. Even though
he ate and drank, the Holy One, blessed be He, did not remove
His grace from him, thanks to his study of the Mishnah. In
those years the study of the Torah had decreased, and whoever
occupied himself with the Torah was mentioned favorably.
After the Sabbath went out, after Havdalah, the
Maggid promised him once again that he would merit a vision
of Elijah, as if the prophet were standing before him. But Rabbi
Yosef would have to fast for three days, seven times, “and then
he will be revealed to you in the place known to you. Do not
fear or be afraid.” The Maggid told him about the portions of
the Torah, and about the living and the dead.
145
minyan, when the port workers would finish their work for the
day. His wife”s sorrow distressed him as well. He could only
overcome it by immersing himself in the study of the Torah.
Then the Maggid came knocking on the door of the
study hall, telling him things about the Torah portion of the
week, and about things to be seen in a vision, things of the
future.
That night the Maggid came to him and explained the matter
to him.
“Your going yesterday in search of meat, wasting half a day
and not finding any, nor even a single chicken, was all My doing.
This was to teach you that meat and wine are the dwelling place
of the Evil Urge. They are not to be pursued, for man can live
without them, just as you honored the Shabbat without meat.
Therefore cease your impure thoughts, and concentrate on the
Torah of the L-rd the entire day, because you are carefully
watched in all your deeds, and so you must take care.”
The Maggi<T''s warning came more and more frequently. At
times he would warn him “Sammael is pursuing you with evil
thoughts. Take great care against him. Sanctify yourself with
what is permitted to you.”
them, for they are your desire, but you shall rule them. It is
these thoughts which prevent Me from telling you everything.
Be especially careful of them at the time of prayer. Devote your
mind to My prayer and service, and do not divert your mind
from this at all.”
The Maggid spoke with him about tefilin and their meaning.
“The tefilin of the head are an allusion to the upper Spheres,
the brain is an allusion to Wisdom and the upper Crown, and
the straps are an allusion to the heavenly abundance which
provides for the world. The tying of the tefilin of the hand with
the strap is an allusion to the connection of the Matrona, the
Queen, with the upper Spheres, and the wrapping of the strap
around the finger is an allusion to Metatron, Sandalphon, and
angels required for the conduct of the world.”
He warned him against excessive eating: “You eat even
though you are not excessively hungry. You eat too much, and
you should refrain from this, even when you feel hungry and
weak. The less you eat the better, because man should not enjoy
this world at all.”
Chapter Twelve
The sky over Salonika was bright blue. Rabbi Yosef Karo
sat in the study hall of the Kabbalists with Rabbi Yosef and
Rabbi Shmuel Taitazak and studied Torah and the secrets of
the Kabbalah. The rabbis of the city asked him to add his
signature to their writs of approval, which he did. He conducted
correspondence with the leading Torah scholars of the time, the
Radbaz, the holy Ari, Rabbi Jacob Berab, who already lived
in Safed. and Rabbi Avraham Ashkenazi, the chief rabbi of
Cairo.
He wanted to settle in Safed, in the hills of Galilee, together
with the Kabbalists and Torah scholars among the exiles from
Spain.
In the study halls in Salonika he had studied all the books he
needed for the writing of his own work, Beit Yosef. On the way
to Eretz Israel he desired to stop in Egypt, to meet with the
Torah scholars there, and to visit the graves of his relatives.
His friend Rabbi Shlomo Alkabez already was in Safed,
and he hoped to meet him. Rabbi Shlomo had visited him in
Nikopol, and had encouraged him to come live in Eretz Israel.
In the year 5291 (1531) Rabbi Yosef set out for Eretz Israel.
Since the Venetian wars increased the danger of sailing, he had
difficulties on the way and he returned to his home in Nikopol,
going via Salonika.
Now he hoped to fulfill his ambition of going up to Eretz
Israel. He feared the trials and tribulations of the journey,
but he trusted in the promise of the Maggid that he would
arrive in Eretz Israel. The Maggid had told him: “Awaken, you
drunkards, for the day has come, let man remove the idols of his
money and his joy at the pleasures of this world and the idols
of his gold, coveting money, and let him go up to Eretz Israel,
because it is in your power. You are sunken in the clay of the
desire for the world and its vanities. Whoever leaves you and
retreats backwards ־־his blood shall be on his head.”
152
he wanted to meet the holy Ari, but he was told that the Ari
secluded himself all the days of the week in a little house on
the bank of the Nile River, where he spent all his time studying
Torah, he returned home only on Sabbath eves, and as soon
as the Sabbath was out, he would return to his secluded hut.
Most of his studies he devoted to the Zohar and the secret
Torah in general.
Many stories were told in Cairo about the holy Ari. It was
told that on the day that the Ari was born in Jerusalem, in
the year 5694, Elijah the prophet appeared to his father, telling
him that a son would be born to him who would illuminate
the entire world with his teachings and his sanctity. Elijah
commanded him to wait for him at the time of the brit milah,
because he wanted to circumcise him himself. On the eighth day
they brought the infant to the synagogue to be circumcised, but
Elijah was not there.
After waiting a long time, all those assembled urged the
father, Rabbi Shlomo Luria Ashkenazi, to make haste and
circumcise his son. But the father replied that he was awaiting
the arrival of several relatives. After more time had passed and
Elijah had still not come, the father thought to himself bitterly,
perhaps his sins were the cause for Elijah”s not coming. He
went into another room and burst into tears. As he was sitting
and crying, Elijah appeared and said to him, “Do not cry. Sit
on the chair and I will circumcise the infant. My appearance
was delayed so that I could learn whether you will keep my
commandments and heed me.’’
Elijah took the child from hands of the mother and
circumcised him, but no one was aware of his presence.
It was told that the Ari learned Torah from Rabbi David
ben Zimra. He also studied with Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi, the
author of the Shitah Mekubetzet on the Talmud. Together with
him he wrote the Shitah on the tractate of Zevahim, but the
manuscript was burned in a fire.
Rabbi Yosef also heard from the elders in the study hall of
Cairo that the Ari merited to see Elijah. They also said that the
Ari”s soul had ascended to the yeshivah of the Tannaim, once
to the yeshivah of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai, and once to the
yeshivah of Rabbi Akiva.
154
It was said that the Ari was blessed with Ruah HaKodesh, the
spirit of Divine inspiration. He spent days and nights studying
the Zohar, and engaged in fasts and mortifications. When he was
shown in a dream that these mortifications were not sufficient,
he went and secluded himself in Old Egypt, entering the orchard
of the Kabbalah.
On Sabbath eve Rabbi Yosef sent an emissary to the house
of the Ari, to inform him that he was in Cairo and wanted
to meet him. The emissary returned and told him that the Ari
was excited to hear of his arrival in Egypt, and he was ready
to meet him in the study hall after prayers. He also invited
him to his home for the Sabbath meal, but, he added, on the
Sabbath he spoke only in Hebrew.
They met as if they were old friends. Although this was the
first time they met each other, they had felt a spiritual closeness
all the years they had written to each other.
In this meeting the Ari told him that after having secluded
himself for six years, he heard a voice in his soul telling him
to go up to Safed, and that he intended to leave Egypt and go
to Eretz Israel.
The meeting between Rabbi Yosef and the Ari was held in a
room next to the study hall. Both of them were planning to go
to Eretz Israel and settle in Safed. They talked about meeting
there and studying the Zohar together.
The Ari revealed to him secrets he had learned from an
unknown Kabbalistic book which he had found with a Mairano
who prayed in the study hall.
This book was not known to many people. By chance he
learned of its existence. He received it from the visitor who
sat next to him, in return for which the taxes on goods the
visitor had brought with him to Egypt were cancelled. (The
Ari”s father-in- law was a tax collector.)
The Ari and Rabbi Yosef talked about the books of Kabbalah
they had studied, some of which they possessed, while others
they had seen in the large library which Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi
155
and running the risk of meeting the robbers who waited in the
desert.
He took with him food for the journey, and boarded the
ship which went from Egypt to Eretz Israel, Lebanon, and
Syria. On board the boat, he met other passengers who also
were going to Eretz Israel. Jews had gathered from all the
ends of the earth in Egypt. There were merchants, scholars,
and Marranos who wished to live in Eretz Israel, to atone with
a life of holiness for their sins in Christian Spain, living in
fear of the Inquisition.
One of the passengers knew Rabbi Yosef from Salonika.
He told the other passengers that there was a scholar among
them, who was known in Salonika for his holiness. Many of the
Jews among the passengers came to him with their questions.
Some asked for his blessing: for a safe journey, to be cured of
illness. Some of them were going to pray at the tombs of their
forefathers for relatives who were gravely ill.
One of the Marranos who had returned to Judaism came to
Rabbi Yosef and told him of the trials and tribulations he had
undergone in Spain when he tried to preserve his Judaism in
secret. This person came from Toledo. He did not leave Spain
with the other exiles, but stayed in the city. He told Rabbi Yosef
that the synagogues were confiscated and turned into churches,
but the Jews dug under their homes and built synagogues under
the earth. Secret staircases led to these synagogues. The Jews
prayed in them three times a day. Many of these Jews were
forced to participate in the prayers in the churches on Sunday
(after they had finished praying in their secret synagogues).
They bowed down to the images in the church with all the other
worshipers, while in their hearts they mocked these acts. This
Marrano asked, what penitance must a person do who has
worshipped in a church and crossed himself?
Rabbi Yosef told him: “When you arrive in Safed, come to
me and I will tell you what you must do.”
Since he did not know the nature of the man, he was
suspicious of him. If he would live in Safed, he would learn
the past of this person, and he would be able to guide him
properly in his new life.
159
The ship sailed close to the shore, so that if the storm were
to worsen they would be able to pull in and let the passengers
off.
The sailors were accustomed to stormy seas, but even they
said that they could not recall such a mighty storm that was
rocking the ship back and forth.
The passengers came to Rabbi Yosef and asked him to pray
for them.
He told them that the merit of their coming up to Eretz
Israel would cause the seas to calm down. And so it was: after
a day of stormy weather, the skies lightened and the waves
abated. Once again the ship sailed on the smooth sea.
The manuscripts of Rabbi Yosef’s books were with him,
and so he remained in his place on the ship, to guard his
manuscripts. He also had brought with him several rare books
which he had found in the attics in Cairo, and he guarded
them with his very life. He was afraid that water would leak
into his cabin and ruin the books. He kept his packages above
the floor, on a shelf.
His wife lay in her bed. Her strength still had not returned
to her. The heavy waves caused her to vomit. He stood by her
to serve her and encourage her.
“Very soon we will reach Eretz Israel, and its air will revive
you.”
“I don”t know if I can last until then, I”m very weak.”
“In Safed, where we will live, the winds blow, the mountain
air is clear, this is where people recover from all their sicknesses.”
“ I am so sick, I will never recover.”
Women passengers came to her cabin and brought her food
and drink that they had brought with them, but she could not
touch anything because of her seasickness.
These women also intended to live in Safed. They promised
her that they would help her to set up her new house in the city.
161
Once again the waves battered the ship. The sailors told the
passengers they could not remember such a storm in all their
years on the sea.
“There must be an important person on the ship who is
being greeted by the storm,” they said.
And so it was. The storm accompanied the ship until it
finally abated. Rabbi Yosef came up on the deck and looked
around him. He looked at the shore and the hills. All the while
he held a book in his hand. Even when the storm was at its
worst, he had not abandoned his books.
He walked back and forth on the deck. The ship was
supposed to dock in either Acco or Haifa. During the voyage he
was sorry that he had not taken the land route. He had thought
hat the land route was dangerous, because of the robbers in the
Sinai Desert, but the sea route was no less dangerous, because
of the storm.
As he gazed at the water and the shore, he thought of new
ideas about the laws regarding sailing in a ship and disembarking
on the land.
He waited for the moment when the ship would drop anchor
and he could go ashore. When this moment came he was all
excited. It seemed to him that all the passages in the Talmud
dealing with Eretz Israel and its sanctity stood before him and
demanded that he study them.
The ship tied up at the dock in Acco. Due to the storm, the
passengers had to leave the ship one at a time. Rabbi Yosef
left the ship with his bundles in his hands, including his books.
162
Chapter Thirteen
Rabbi Yosef Karo had known for some time that Rabbi
Yaakov Berab”s method of study would have a beneficial
influence on him. He regarded him as his teacher and master.
In his house Rabbi Yaakov Berab kept hundreds of
manuscripts of new interpretations of the Torah, of the great
Torah scholars of all generations, especially the writings of
Rabbi Yitzhak Aboab, the author of Menorat ha-Ma”or. Rabbi
Yosef asked his permission to study the manuscripts in his
house, and permission was granted him. This would help him
to write his book.
Rabbi Yosef lovingly read the treasures he found in Rabbi
Yaakov”s house. He joined his study hall, and spent his days
in the uninterrupted study of Torah.
After a while. Rabbi Yosef and his wife found an apartment
in Safed, from whose windows they could see the surrounding
hills.
from the wool they produced. The craft of weaving had been
entirely in Jewish hands in Spain. The Jews had brought the
craft of weaving with them from Spain to the Turkish empire,
where good clothing was needed, but whose clothing industry
was very backwards.
When the exiles from Spain came to Safed, they looked for
a suitable place for the weaving industry. The cost of living was
not high in Safed. They needed flowing water, for fulling and
dying. They found pure, fresh water in the springs in the vicinity
of Safed: Ein Po”em, Miron, Yakim, Nahal ha-Tahanot, Nahal
Amud. There were also springs of fresh water in the village of
Ein Zeitim. The Jews who came to Safed had turned the city
into an important center for the sale of expensive cloth and
fabrics. More than seven thousand men, women, and children
were employed in this industry. There were five hundred looms
in the city, six large dying plants, and no less than three fulling
mills, all operated by the power of the water flowing in Nahal
Amud. Ships sailing to and from the port of Sidon carried wool
and cloth, as well as Jews coming to Eretz Israel.
The Jews leased the mills from the Wakf, the Moslem religious
trust, or from the Ottoman government. A large portion of
the income from the fulling mills was devoted to the upkeep
of the yeshivot in Safed. The water turbines that powered the
fulling mills were surrounded by orchards of fruit trees and
vegetable gardens which also were irrigated by water from the
turbines. Millions of yards of cloth were produced in Safed,
of as good quality as that from the best mills in the entire
Mediterranean area —the mills of Venice.
“Welcome, Rabbi Yosef Karo of Toledo!” they greeted him.
“I am happy to be here in the holy city of Safed.”
“ Perhaps we could honor you with a choice fabric, so that
you will have new clothes sewn for yourself, in honor of Eretz
Israel?” they asked him.
“Thank you, but I do not need new clothes. Fabric is
expensive, and I cannot pay for this.”
171
“You have spoken well. This is a great task you have taken
upon yourself.”
“Yes. I have devoted the best years of my life to this
work. At first I thought to follow the text of the Mishneh
Torah, but I changed my mind, because Rambam brings only
one opinion, and I would have had to cite the opinions of
the other poskim and their arguments. Therefore I decided to
have it follow the text of the Arba Turim of Rabbi Yaakov,
the son of the Rosh, because he includes the opinions of the
majority of the poskim.''
“There are lands in which the law was decided in accordance
with the opinion of the poskim in those lands,” the members
of the court told him.
“ If in some lands they ruled that something is prohibited,
while I ruled the opposite, they should continue their practice,
because they have accepted the opinion of a scholar who
prohibits them from acting otherwise, as is learned in the chapter
of Pesahim, ‘In a place where they were accustomed.’ ”
“We accept your words.”
“I ask that you help me in this labor. There are times when I
need the advice of Torah scholars in order to clarify and decide
the law.”
“Of course we will help you,” answered the head of the court,
Rabbi Yaakov Berab.
“We will be by your side in this work,” added Rabbi Moshe
Trani.
He told the members of the court the topics about which he
was writing at the time, and about which he was unsure how to
decide the law. They entered into a legal discussion with him.
Their opinions and great knowledge aided him in deciding the
law. Differences of opinion also arose, however, and he had to
decide between the opinions and formulate this section of his
book, as he understood the law.
He found that he had chosen a good place to complete his
book, because there were many books and manuscripts available
to him, and whenever he had a doubt about a certain matter, he
could come to the Torah scholars in the city and discuss the
177
law with them. He would not have the total responsibility for
deciding the law in these cases.
Chapter Fourteen
with holy thoughts. The mountains danced with them, the hills
arose in front of them. A great spirit came to them from the
hills, a spirit of sanctity and purity. One of the Kabbalists
would bring with him sayings and secret knowledge, which he
would spread in the ears of those gathered, revealing mighty
secrets that he had discovered in the attic of the study hall
when he studied the Zohar.
When Rabbi Yosef stood within the band of Kabbalists,
next to Rabbi Shlomo Alkabez, he would drink his fill from
the air of the hills, from the sunset, and from the changing
of the colors of the sky, as he listened to the pearls of song
by Rabbi Shlomo Alkabez, responding after him, “Come, my
beloved.”
Rabbi Shlomo continued to sing with great devotion:
^ י
m ״
psh ותחי יאשיתסלאכתו יוסב ערנ חפסח
פח דסעיאה
Title page of the book Beit Yosef, from one of the first editions
188
***
Chapter Fifteen
would be greater than that of all the yeshivah students over the
course of hundreds of years. He would achieve this through his
books.
While he studied the Mishnah, he also wrote a commentary
on it. He also wrote supercommentaries on the commentaries
of Rashi and the Ramban on the Torah, as well as the book,
Klalei HaGemara (Rules of the Gemara). When he studied the
portions of the Torah, or the Mishnah, he sensed a spring
within him revealing new insights in the text he was studying.
These insights were stored up within him until he wrote them
down. Sometimes he would write down his new commentary
while he was studying, so that it would not be forgotten.
All his life he had yearned to interpret the greatest of the
poskim, the Rambam. He felt that he had to write a book of
his interpretations of the Mishneh Torah ^ making use of his
knowledge of all the Talmudic literature and the laws issued
after the Talmud. He wanted to defend the Rambam against
his critics, to see his sources, which would enable him to clarify
unexplained things in his decisions, and to reveal the Rambam”s
greatness and his expertise and through understanding of the
Talmud and the legal books which were composed after it,
thereby cancelling all the criticisms raised against the Rambam.
He had already thought of writing this book when a youth, when
he studied the Rambam”s books. When he finished writing
the manuscript of his book on the Rambam, he wrote in the
introduction, “I saw how Moshe the great illuminary wrote
his work, the great Yad, on the laws, rules, and interpretation
of the Torah. Who like him teaches in a concise and clear
language, like the Mishnah? But the following generations were
incapable of understanding his words, due to the profundity of
his pure statements. Similarly, they did not know the origin of
each law. In addition. Rabbi Avraham ben David wrote critical
comments on him. Indeed, one holy person arose, Don Vidal
of Toulouse, who wrote the commentary, Maggid Mishneh,
in which he reveals the sources, and gives the reasons for
his rulings, but we have merited to receive his light only on
the books of Zemanim, Nashim and Kedushah, Nezikin and
Kinyan (except for the laws of emissaries, partners, and slaves),
199
the leading scholars in Safed or with his pupils in the study hall.
If he had studied them by himself, he would not have found
their sources or the reason behind the law. At times he would
bring to the study hall what he had written that day and lecture
to the scholars. They would ask questions, and bring sources
of their own, thereby further clarifying the law.
He was very grateful to the scholars and his students for their
support during the writing of his Beit Yosef.
but could not find. He was sorry about this, perhaps he missed
something that they had written. He lacked many of the books
written by the sages of Ashkenaz.
The queries that were directed to him, which he had to
answer, took much of his precious time.
In order to devote himself solely to the writing of his book,
he left Safed and went to the nearby village of Biria, where he
could work in peace and quiet on his book.
The days in Biria passed pleasantly. Every day he saw the
majestic beauty of the surrounding Galilee hills. The sun set,
casting a purple glow over everything. The flowers grew in
a profusion of colors. His seclusion made it easier for him
to work. The formulation of each law required great care, and
the thorough study of all the sources.
Morning came in Biria with a sound all its own. The birds
chirped, the donkeys brayed, the stalks swayed in the wind.
The villagers went out with their donkeys to work the fields.
Only a few would remain in the village. Every day Rabbi Yosef
would walk in the fields, to breath the fresh air, and to gather
strength for the labors of the day. He would sit, hidden away
in his room, with piles of books and manuscripts. Undecided,
he would struggle with himself over each sentence he wrote.
203
Chapter Sixteen
this, “If, during the week, the nails shine a bit from the aspect
of shell in them, then on the eve of the Sabbath they shine
from the aspect of holiness in them.”
He would cut his hair on Friday before noon, but would
not touch the hair of his beard. In honor of the Sabbath he
wore four white garments, corresponding to the four letters
of the Tetragrammaton, the Ineffable Name of G־d. Only on
winter Sabbaths would he wear an extra garment, because of the
cold. When the Kabbalists asked him about this, he said, “The
color of the garments which a person wears on the Sabbath
in the world of souls is the same as the color of the garments
he wears on the Sabbath in this world.”
When he came to the synagogue and he saw people coming
in weekday clothes, he said to them, even though they were
mourners who did not change their clothes, “Those who come
to the synagogue on the Sabbath and do not change their
everyday clothes for Sabbath clothes do not have Sabbath rest
in their souls.”
On the Sabbath he would speak only in Hebrew, and would
take care not to speak of weekday matters, on the Sabbath,
not even in Hebrew. He told them, “Spend much time in the
study of the Kabbalah on the Sabbath, because the Kabbalah is
from the world of Atzilut (the world of creation), which exerts
an influence on the Sabbath, for there are no shells in the world
of Atzilut'*
During the third Sabbath meal he would sing the song, Bnai
Heikhala Dikhsifin^ and would extend the meal, to extend for
himself the holiness of the Sabbath, before the departure of the
extra Sabbath soul.
They told him that when the Ari came to his home on
Sabbath eve, he would arrange the Sabbath meal on a four
legged table, like the table in the Temple. He would put
twelve hallot (Sabbath loaves) on the table, six on the right
and six on the left.
During the meal he would sing Sabbath songs, including the
song he himself had composed, Azamer bishvahin, lemaial go
pithin.
On the Sabbath in the morning he would immerse in the
mikveh and say: “Just as there is a difference between the
holiness of the Sabbath and the weekday, and therefore it
is necessary to immerse on the eve of the Sabbath, so too
there is a difference between the holiness of the Sabbath night
and the holiness of the Sabbath day, which is a strict holiness.”
When the emissaries told Rabbi Yosef of the practices of the
Ari, he immediately searched for sources for these practices, for
he knew that the Ari undoubtedly based them on sources.
They also told him that at Motzei Shabbat, when the Sabbath
went out, during Havdalah, marking the end of the Sabbath,
he would smell a bunch of myrtles containing three sprigs of
myrtle tied together with a single knot, for the three sprigs
represented nefesh (usually translated “soul”), ruah (spirit) and
neshamah (soul). He told them about this, “When any Jew
smells the spices on Motzei Shabbat^ he can know in which part
of his body his soul is located. If he smells this immediately,
this is a sign that the soul is close to his nostrils. If he smells
it only after some time has elapsed, this is a sign that the
soul is distant from his nostrils, for at times the soul descends,
below his feet.”
He would extend the Melavah Malkah meal after the
conclusion of the Sabbath with joy and excitement. He told
his followers, “The additional soul does not leave the Israelite
until after the Melavah Malkah meal. Therefore it is not proper
to engage in work which is not for the preparation of food
until after this meal, which is the meal of David, the anointed
King, the Messiah.”
Rabbi Yosef studied the practices and the Ari and found
their sources.
209
The Ari was precise in every word and every letter of his
prayers. He found great mystical intents in them. When he
arose from his sleep to recite Tikkun Hatzot, he would wash
his hands and face, and sit in the total darkness, covering his
head like a mourner. He would begin by reciting Psalm 137
(“ By the rivers of Babylon we wept”), directing his thoughts to
the destruction of the Temple. Next he would recite “A Psalm
211
Chapter Seventeen
The words of the scholars of Safed and their joining the ban
of the informer had their effect. No one would dare cancel this
ban.
The Sultan was convinced that the informer who had spoken
against Don Yosef Nasi was not worthy of an audience, since
221
the majority of the people and their sages supported Don Yosef
Nasi and his mother-in-law. Don Yosef Nasi resumed his former
exalted status at the Sultan”s court.
Rabbi Yosef received a letter in which he was asked to
rule in a dispute between Hanna (Dona Mendez Gracia) and
her sister Rivka, who had taken money from the family”s funds.
When they were still in Christian lands, Rivka had informed on
her sister. She said that she planned to escape to Turkey and
return to the religion of her forefathers. Hanna demanded her
money from the sister who had caused her so much harm.
Rabbi Yosef Karo continued to write his books. He thought
how he would find generous Jews who would aid him in
publishing them. He had to send the manuscript far away,
to Venice, where there was a Hebrew printing press. But he
needed a great deal of money for this. Since he did not want to
receive a gift from Don Yosef Nasi and Dona Mendez Gracia,
he thought that he should turn to rabbis and donors who
recognized the worth of his books.
At this time he was writing the section in the Beit Yosef dealing
with the honor due to one”s teacher and to Torah scholars. The
teachers from whom he had learned Torah stood before his
eyes in all their glory. At times he was faced with a serious
dilemma, when he realized that his teachers had erred in their
legal decisions. He was harsh with himself: what did it mean to
disagree with one”s teacher?
He read what the author of the Turim had written: “Who is
the one who disagrees with his teacher? The one who establishes
for himself a study hall and who sits and expounds and teaches,
when his teacher is alive, even in another land.” Then he
discussed what the Rambam wrote on this.
Until he wrote this section he had to study all the books
dealing with this topic, in order to discover the sources and
the law. While dealing with it he came across the issues of
a controversy between scholars, between disciples and their
disciples; of disciples who disagreed with their teachers and
established study halls close to the study halls of their teachers.
There were cases in which they brought each other before the
court, when it became clear that this was an instance of a
222
pupil who disagrees with his teacher, for they did so without
obtaining their teacher”s permission.
In his lectures to his pupils he emphasized the need to act
respectfully towards one”s teachers, to serve Torah scholars, to
take care not to start a controversy, and to flee from quarrels.
He was about to complete the writing of his Beit Yosef,
which he had begun at the age of thirty-four. He continued to
reread and edit his book.
stomachs bright red spots were found, because they ate a herb
called taltit. Rabbi Yosef prohibited eating from the meat of
these cows, while the Mabit viewed this as a severity beyond
the demands of the law, because prohibiting it would involve a
financial loss for Jews. In the interests of peace, however, he
did not oppose the decision.
The butchers knew of the M abif’s lenient opinion, and so
they continued to feed the animals this herb. They slaughtered
the animals and sold the meat on the basis of this permission.
Several of the people who ate this meat fell ill with the same
illness of bright red spots, and ten people even died from this.
The Mabit saw that he had erred. He accepted the opinion
of Rabbi Yosef, and the two of them agreed to prohibit the
animals whose lungs were afflicted, and this was accepted by
the public.
The disagreements continued. At times Rabbi Yosef
complained that the Mabit exceeded his authority and ruled
for people who were not members of his community.
Rabbi Yosefs disciples would agree with the decisions he
issued, as did the other scholars in Safed. The Mabit remained
as a minority opinion.
When a plague broke out in Safed, the Mabit fled from
the city to the villages, to escape the plague area. He received
legal queries there, but he did not have his books with him.
He stayed for a while in Damascus to escape the plague, but
he prayed to return to his place in Safed to serve the L-rd,
as he had done all his life.
He was a fervent admirer of his chief teacher. Rabbi Yaakov
Berab.
The Mabit was born in Salonika. His father. Rabbi Yosef,
had gone there after being expelled from Castile together with
his brother Aaron. At the age of fourteen, the Mabit left
Salonika to study Torah in Adrianople under his uncle. He
enjoyed his days in the yeshivah of Rabbi Yosef Fasi; he
saw the customs of the Jews in the city and learned from
them.
He was one of the builders of the community of Safed and
a legal guide for his community. He watched over them so
250
that one person should not cause any harm to his fellow. He
established regulations for his community, and supervised the
business dealings of its members.
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
would tell him stories, go with him from tree to tree and
explain to his son the nature of each tree and the flavor of
each fruit. It was summertime in Galilee. The orchards were in
full blossom.
The Jews in the villages would come to Rabbi Yosef with the
legal questions that had arisen. At times many of them would
stand by his house, waiting for his clear answers.
Yehudah studied in a Talmud Torah. At the age of three
the child learned the letters of the Alef-Bet. At the age of
five they began to teach him Bible. When he was eleven, they
began to teach him Mishnah, and at the age of fifteen, Gemara.
The schools in Safed had different methods of teaching. Some
taught Bible with the Targum. Others translated everything into
Ladino, while the Mustarabs taught the Bible with a translation
into Arabic. The teachers who came from Spain emphasized the
meaning of the words in the Bible text.
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Chapter Twenty
When Rabbi Yosef wrote the laws, and they began to pile up
one on top of the other, he thought of the need for an index
to his books, so that the reader would be able to find the law
he seeks. After all, the book was intended to make it easier
for a person to learn the law, without having to look through
many books; without an index, the reader would not be able
to find the law.
He devoted himself to composing the index, because only he
knew where to find the laws and in what order they had been
written. This was an even harder task than that of writing the
laws, because there was no joy of creativity here, no discovery
of the law, and none of the feeling of accomplishment he felt
after ordering and formulating the laws. Nevertheless, he began
this work, so that the Shulhan Arukh would have a complete
index.
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Chapter Twenty-One
Letters and reports reached him from Poland that his book
had aroused much excitement there. Rabbis, scholars, and
rabbinical judges had gathered together to study the Shulhan
Arukh, arguing over each and every law in the book. Some
claimed that the Ashkenazic customs were lacking in the book.
The leading scholar of the Jewish community in Poland,
Rabbi Moshe Isserles, who lived in Cracow and who was known
for his knowledge and teachings, began to spread a “tablecloth”
over the ”set table,” adorning it with the Ashkenazic customs.
He claimed that Rabbi Yosef Karo did not know the customs
as they had been formulated by the scholars of this diaspora. In
general, the Ashkenazic scholars were the first to have properly
appreciated the great value of the Shulhan Arukh.
There were bonds of friendship between Rabbi Yosef Karo
and Rabbi Moshe Isserles. They sent letters to each other and
discussed questions of law.
Rabbi Yosef purchased in Safed a handwritten copy of a
Tikkun Soferim, paying for it one hundred gold coins, in order
to send it to Rabbi Moshe Isserles. Rabbi Moshe himself wrote
a Torah Scroll, in which they read on Yom Kippur, from this
Tikkun. In his book of responsa, Rabbi Moshe wrote about
Rabbi Yosef Karo, “The Nasi (prince) of G־d among us ...
If anyone disagrees with him, it is as if he disagrees with the
Shekhinah.^'
Rabbi Moshe Isserles had intended to write his book Darkhei
Moshe on the Tur by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, similar to the
book which Rabbi Yosef Karo was about to write, but the
Maggid came to Rabbi Yosef and told him to make haste
and publish his book Beit Yosef, so that another, who lives in
Cracow, would not precede him.
Rabbi Moshe Isserles was born in Cracow, to his father
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Chapter Twenty-Two
The K e s s e f M is h n e h
so, and always take care with wine, you will be happy in this
world and it will be well for you in the World to Come, for
there will be a dwelling place for the Torah. Cleave to it always,
without interruption, so as not to provide an opportunity for
drink to rule you at all.”
Between the things the Maggid told him and his learning
of mishnayot, he thought of the corrections he would have
to make in the Shulhan Arukh. He had doubts about laws
and sections that he had written. Letters written to him by
Rabbi Moshe Isserles in faraway Cracow drew his attention
to rulings he had made: perhaps he had not studied all the
sources? There was truth in several of the comments the Rama
made, in which he relied on the rulings of the scholars of
Ashkenaz. He was almost certain that he had examined all
the sources when he wrote the laws, for he remembered what
was written in all the essential books, but these comments
meant that things were not so clear. Practices that had been
determined in Ashkenaz had not come to his attention, and if
he had learned of them, he did not take them into account,
because he did not know their sources.
As he was thinking these thoughts, the student-fellow knocked
on the door. He came from a distance, and he was soaking wet.
Just then the Maggid resumed talking, warning him not to let
his thoughts stray. Rabbi Yosef wondered whether the student-
fellow heard the Maggict's words. He did not seem to be aware
of the voice. They greeted each other, and planned to study
until dawn would break. The Maggid ceased talking, but Rabbi
Yosef knew that he would renew his speaking at midnight, or
at the first light.
The Ashkenazic sages sent him letters after they had received
his book and studied it. The critics of the Shulhan Arukh included
Rabbi Shlomo Luria (the Maharshal), Rabbi Meir of Lublin
(the Maharam), and Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe (the author of the
Levushim). Some of them claimed that he had “uprooted the
tradition of our French and German teachers,” because the
book was based mainly on the rulings of the Sefardi sages.
The criticisms of the Ashkenazi sages led him to review all
the subjects they spoke about. Some of them expressed their
fears that ruling in accordance with the Shulhan Arukh, without
looking in the sources in the Talmud and in the Rishonim, was
liable to lead to erroneous decisions, because he did not bring
the reasoning behind decisions in his book. Rabbi Yosef Karo
did not share this fear, because he knew that any scholar who
needed a ruling would read the sources.
Despite these criticisms, reports reached him that the
Ashkenazic sages were ruling in accordance with the Shulhan
Arukh, whenever the Rama did not disagree.
Along with the criticism of the book, and the debate
surrounding it, it became clear that since the time of the writing
of the Mishneh Torah by the Rambam until then, no legal book
had enjoyed such great publicity, and such great authority, as
had the Shulhan Arukh.
When Rabbi Yosef Karo finished writing the Shulhan Arukh,
he turned to the writing of his book Kessef Mishneh on the
Rambam, in which he interpreted the Rambam”s sources. In
this book he tried to remove all the objections the Ravad
had raised against the Rambam. He also wrote notes on the
commentary Maggid Mishneh by Rabbi Yom Tov Vidal, which
encompassed only six of the fourteen volumes of the Mishneh
TbraA. Three sections of the book were published during his
lifetime, in Venice.
From near and far, the scholars of his time continued to
277
The boy would play his childish games next to his father.
Sometimes he would ask his father a question, such as: “Why
do you sit and write books your entire life?”
His father answered him, “When you grow up, my son, you
will be busy with the books I write.”
The boy looked at his father”s writings, read the letters he
knew, and wrapped himself in his father”s talit and pretended
to pray, as children do.
By the time the child stopped playing, his father had
completed writing an entire page. Now he had to correct and
edit it, but the child bothered him. He climbed up on his knees,
and from there to the table, where he crawled around. All the
pages were scattered, and Rabbi Yosef had to collect them
and put them in order again.
The father saw that the boy wanted to play. He stopped
his writing, gathered his books, and went outside with him.
The boy went to the courtyard where he pulled up weeds,
ran after birds, and spotted worms and threw them up in the
air.
The father thought of his son”s future. He was the only one
who could deal with the manuscripts that Rabbi Yosef would
leave, his father”s inheritance. He had to pray that the child
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“Zeigermacher”)
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Chapter Twenty-Three
Legal Discussions
His old age bothered him. He was not as before. His mind
was clear, but his physical powers failed him. He put aside
works that he had written, because the effort was too great
for him. His students aided him in taking books down from
the shelves.
He thought of his youth in Constantinople, when he secluded
himself for days and nights in the study hall, thirstily drinking
in the Torah. He was totally absorbed in the Torah, except for
only the few hours he slept each night.
Little Yehudah ran about in the room. Rabbi Yosef looked
at him. He saw how he grew, and hoped that he would study
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Torah, but he did not know if this would come about. This
child would have to deal with the publication of his father”s
writings. Would he be capable of fllfilling this task?
The many questions he received were a burden upon him.
He had to reply to each one. He had not thought that after the
publication of his books he would become a magnet, attracting
questions on points of law from the entire world. Leading
Torah scholars embroiled in disagreements on points of law
also turned to him as the final decider of the law.
The days came and went. Rabbi Yosef Karo sensed that he
had to prepare for the final judgement. The walk between his
house and the study hall became difficult for him. His pupils
accompanied him the entire distance. He was no longer able
to walk the mountain paths of Galilee, letting his thoughts
blossom forth in his solitude. He was surrounded by students
and admirers. These were the fruits of his labors. The sound
of Torah could be heard in his yeshivah. He needed rest in his
old age, but communal affairs troubled him.
Groups of people walked about in the lanes of Safed, coming
down from the hills, going up to the graves of the righteous,
going from stone to stone and from tomb to tomb. They were
searching for the graves of the early sages. From time to time
they would come to Rabbi Yosef and tell him of the tombs
of Tannaim that they had discovered, hidden under layers of
earth.
The Kinneret, dazzlingly blue, spread out before the group
of Jews coming down to Tiberias to pray at the graves of the
righteous there.
A never-ending stream of letters connected with Rabbi
Yosef’s book continued to arrive in Safed.
Yehudah ran about in the study hall among the students.
They would say the beginning of a verse from the Bible, and he
would complete the verse. Others would start some well-known
saying, and he would complete it. He heard these from the
students who came to his father, and they entered his memory.
Rabbi Yosef did not have the strength to give his regular
lessons. Illnesses left their mark on him. He was no longer the
industrious, diligent scholar he had been in his prime.
293
His pupils stood by him and aided him throughout the day.
This pained him, because he did not seek the help of others.
Walking was difficult for him. His students accompanied him
to the study hall. They held his arm and led him, so that he
would not stumble.
“I want to merit seeing my son Yehudah studying in the
study hall together with my pupils,” he said.
He had difficulty in writing. At times he would ask his pupils
to write what he dictated to them. Sometimes his thoughts were
not complete, and his pupils completed them as they wrote,
because they knew his intent.
He continued to send responses to the queries that arrived
from all the communities. Each response was written clearly,
after, with the help of his students, he had studied the sources.
When a questioner mentioned additional sources that changed
the ruling. Rabbi Yosef requested that they reply, acknowledging
that the writer was correct, and that they keep a copy of the
reply, so that in the future the ruling would be corrected, in a
new edition of the book, or in a collection of responsa.
Rabbi Yosef saw that he was growing old. He continued
his daily schedule, but many things were difficult for him. He
left his house only to go to the study hall, accompanied by his
pupils.
Chapter Twenty-Four
yeshivah, he sat down to study and forgot all the cares of this
world.
His wife sent for one of the expert goldsmiths, one who was
trustworthy. She showed him the mortar and asked him if it
could be sold, and how much it was worth.
When the goldsmith saw the mortar he was stunned. He
said, ”This mortar is made of pure gold. Guard it carefully, it
is worth a fortune!”
Rabbi Yosef’s wife was gladdened by his words. She took
the mortar and returned it to the closet, without telling her
husband anything about what she heard from the goldsmith.
That night Rabbi Yosef had a dream. In his dream, the
tall man who had sold him the mortar came and told him,
“Know that I am your good fortune. I waited a long time
for you, until you would separate from your partner, to bring
you your property. The mortar which I brought you is made
of pure gold. You must know its true value. After you sell
it, leave here and go to Safed, the holy city in Eretz Israel.
There the L-rd will send you blessing and success in everything
you do, and your teachings will spread throughout the entire
world.”
In the morning Rabbi Yosef told his wife of the dream he
had had about the gold mortar. His wife replied, “I already
knew this, from the goldsmith whom I asked to examine the
rusty mortar.”
Rabbi Yosef put the mortar up for sale and received a
huge sum of money for it. He said to himself. With this sum
of money we will go up to Eretz Israel. We will live in the
city of Safed, where I will write my books.
And this is what happened. The money he received for the
mortar sufficed for the trip to Eretz Israel and for the printing
of the books he wrote in Safed.
Now that he remembered this, he understood that it was the
merit of his Torah study which had enabled him to receive this
money. His meeting the tall man in the marketplace was not a
chance encounter.
A person”s sustenance is decreed for hiin from Tishrei to
Tishrei, he thought to himself as he remembered this incident.
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The sale of the mortar was the key to everything that happened
to him and to all the books that he wrote.
Rabbi Yosef knew that his days were drawing to a close. His
strength was failing. He thought of Shlomo Molcho who died
a martyr”s death on the pyre. His image had been before him
all these years. Shlomo Molcho had wanted to come to Safed
to live among the Kabbalists, but he had not lived to realize
his wish. He saw in his mind”s eye how the fire rose from the
pyre and how the body of his friend Shlomo was burned in the
flames.
All his days he had been jealous of the great privilege of
ascending the pyre for the Torah of Israel. The books that he
wrote were a substitute for ascending the pyre. He thought that
Shlomo Molcho”s merit was greater than his. When he would
enter the World to Come, he would meet Shlomo Molcho. Once
again, the two would be able to sit and study Torah together.
The golden mortar also entered his thoughts. His thoughts of
the golden mortar and Shlomo Molcho vanishing in the smoke
of the pyre mingled with each other. How could these two
things come to his mind together?
It had been a long time since the Maggid came to him at
night when he studied. He had been too weak to go to the
study hall at night. He remembered what the Maggid had said
to him the last time he had appeared; “Behold, I have set you
as Nagid over the Israelites dwelling in the cities of Arabistan.
Take care not to cease for a single minute the attachment
between you and your Maker, because whoever studied Torah
at night is surrounded by a thread of grace during the day, and
only the person who studies Torah maintains the attachment
between him and his Maker. If you do so, from heaven the
attachment to your Maker is strengthened.”
Now that he was an old man and he found it difficult to
study at night, the Maggid had parted from him. He did not
understand why the Maggid had told him that he would be
Nagid over the Israelites dwelling in the cities of Arabistan.
298
letters and reply in his name. He knew the topics by heart, and
he told the student which sources he should review in order
to write the response.
Other queries required profound study. They came from
the great Ashkenazic scholars who presented sharp logical
arguments. They descended to the depths of matters and were
full of allusions and new lines of argument. These questions
demanded profound thought, and he did not have the strength
for this now.
Questions which came from Sefardi scholars were arranged
according to a clear format, each detail was to be found in
its proper place, and the transition from one matter to the
next was clear and simple. For the Ashkenazi scholars, on
the other hand, profundity was the main thing, not clarity.
The outline of their thoughts was not as clear. Their thoughts
were flexible, and aimed at their goal. The strength of the
Ashkenazim lay in what they did not say. At times the manner
of their speech was blocked by the depths of their emotion, the
fervor of their ideas, and the intensity of their excitement. The
Sefardi scholars would methodically arrange the material. They
were capable of classifying it in the proper order. The style of
the question would immediately tell Rabbi Yosef from where
it had come.
Rabbi Yosef got up from his bed. He took small steps.
Wrapped in his talit and tefilin, he prayed Shaharit. He hoped
that the new day would bring him renewed strength.
great loss.
All Safed was in mourning, in darkness as deep as if the sun
had been hidden at noon. People walked about, in mourning
for the rabbi who had departed from them. The leading Torah
scholars of the time eulogized him in their communities. They
said. The greatest of the poskim, who guided all Israel, has left
us.
When Rabbi Yosef Karo”s soul ascended to heaven, he was
received by the angels, who came forth to greet him. The upper
spheres received him from the lower ones and bore him to the
highest heights.
Three bands of angels came forth to greet him, singing. The
Maggid, who had spoken to him in the lower world, also was
among them.
Now they stood before him in white, in the upper world, for
even when he had been in the lower world, he had belonged to
this upper one. Now he had come to the place where he had
been expected all the years that he had been on the earth.
Fountains of holiness opened up and the worlds were blessed
by his arrival.
“Behold, here comes Maran, the author of the Beit Yosef,
the Shulhan Arukh, and the Kessef MishnehV' the holy angels
proclaimed before him.
The worlds were sanctified, a spirit of holiness encompassed
all. His books marched before him and opened the way for him.
The holy ones blessed him and received him in their company.
Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulhan Arukh, was
born in Toledo, Spain, in 1488. Maran: Rabbi Yosef Karo was
published in Hebrew in 1988, the 500th anniversary of Rabbi
Yosef Karo’’s birth. The book tells the story of his life, beginning
with the Expulsion from Spain and his family”s wanderings
in Portugal, and continuing with his stay in the Ottoman
Empire, where he lived in different cities, serving as a rabbi
and conceiving of the idea of pesikah, the final formulation of
the law, and his ascent to Eretz Israel and his arrival in Safed.
It was in this city, which became the spiritual center of the
Jewish world, that Rabbi Yosef Karo -- “Maran” - wrote the
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