Isaac ben Joseph Caro
Encyclopedia
Isaac ben Joseph Caro was a Spanish Talmud
ist and Bible commentator. He flourished in the second half of the fifteenth century and the first half of the sixteenth. The son of a scholar and scion of a noble family, he devoted himself to study in his native city of Toledo
, being one of the foremost rabbinical authorities of the country when he had to leave it on the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Then he went to Portugal, where he remained for six years. When the Jews were driven from that country too, he fled to Constantinople
. During the persecution in Portugal he lost all but one of his sons, "who were beautiful like princes." Finally he found refuge in Turkey, where he probably died at an advanced age after 1518.
In that year he published his commentary to the Pentateuch, Toledot Yitzchaq (Constantinople; printed six times in Italy and Poland). In this work Caro endeavors to do justice to the "peshat
," the literal interpretation, as well as to the allegorical interpretation, evincing little originality but good taste. He left a collection of responsa
, unpublished by the early twentieth century. His nephew, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, quotes from it several times (compare David Conforte
, s.v., and Abqat Rokel, No. 144), and the latter's son, Judah, intended to publish it, but never carried out his intention. The Bodleian Library
contains Caro's novellæ to Ketubot (No. 535, 2, 3, in Adolf Neubauer
, "Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS."), as well as a work entitled Chasde Dawid, containing philosophic and haggadic homilies (Neubauer, l.c. No. 987).
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Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ist and Bible commentator. He flourished in the second half of the fifteenth century and the first half of the sixteenth. The son of a scholar and scion of a noble family, he devoted himself to study in his native city of Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, being one of the foremost rabbinical authorities of the country when he had to leave it on the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Then he went to Portugal, where he remained for six years. When the Jews were driven from that country too, he fled to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. During the persecution in Portugal he lost all but one of his sons, "who were beautiful like princes." Finally he found refuge in Turkey, where he probably died at an advanced age after 1518.
In that year he published his commentary to the Pentateuch, Toledot Yitzchaq (Constantinople; printed six times in Italy and Poland). In this work Caro endeavors to do justice to the "peshat
Peshat
Peshat is one of four classical methods of Jewish biblical exegesis used by Rabbis and Jewish bible scholars in reading the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh. Peshat is part of a group of exegetical methods known together as Pardes...
," the literal interpretation, as well as to the allegorical interpretation, evincing little originality but good taste. He left a collection of responsa
Responsa
Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
, unpublished by the early twentieth century. His nephew, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, quotes from it several times (compare David Conforte
David Conforte
David Conforte was a Hebrew literary historian born in Salonica, author of the literary chronicle known by the title Ḳore ha-Dorot.-Biography:...
, s.v., and Abqat Rokel, No. 144), and the latter's son, Judah, intended to publish it, but never carried out his intention. The Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
contains Caro's novellæ to Ketubot (No. 535, 2, 3, in Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer was sublibrarian at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University....
, "Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS."), as well as a work entitled Chasde Dawid, containing philosophic and haggadic homilies (Neubauer, l.c. No. 987).
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