CARO, JOSÉPH. — Rabbi, b. at Toledo in 1488. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, his family settled at Adrianople.
There C. began his greatest work, the Bêth fêsēph, a commentary on the code of Talmudic law by JÀQÓBH BEN 'ÀSÈR, which cost him twenty years of labour. For each topic he cites the Talmudic source and then reports what had been written on II. After a few years he moved to Safad, then the most important rabbinic centre in Palestine; there he died on 24 March 1573.
Alongside his fundamental work, there is a compendium entitled Shulbán 'Arúkh, which immediately enjoyed great popularity, was translated into various languages, and is still the fundamental norm of Jewish life. C. also left a commentary on the code of Maimonides and responsa on ritual questions.