Rabbi Yosef Karo

Rabbi Yosef Karo was one of the most important legal authorities in Jewish history. After the Spanish Expulsion, he eventually settled in Tzfat, where he became a central figure in the world of Sephardic Torah scholarship. His major work, Beit Yosef, was a massive commentary on the Tur that collected and analyzed earlier halakhic opinions.

His greatest influence came through the Shulchan Aruch, a clear and organized code of Jewish law. This work became one of the most accepted foundations of practical halakhah, especially among Sephardic communities, and later became central for Ashkenazi communities as well after the glosses of the Rama were added.