R. Karo spent most of his adult life in the city of Safed. We know very little about the first part of his life and virtually nothing about the public impact of his early writings, for instance, as a composer of Responsa nor about his community activity, rabbinic authority, public preaching, or his Talmudic master(s). His significant imprint, whether through his writings or his communal activities, relates predominantly to the Safed years. Here he waged the chief battles discussed in this chapter: establishing his dominant position as a rabbinic persona whose instructions are heard and followed; founding and managing several yeshivas; participating in the procedures of the leading court of law (Beit-Din Ha-Gadol); and establishing and supporting a large network of loyal and advanced disciples.

The Unique Position of Safed

The general exile of Iberian Jews in late fifteenth century was followed by waves of immigrations across the globe, weaving international networks of political, economy, family, and religious ties. This process eventually led to the establishment of two main Diasporas. The “Western Sephardi” Diaspora in Western and Northern Europe was influenced by Christian traditions under centralizing states and maritime empires. A parallel network, the “Eastern Sephardi” Diaspora, was deeply immersed in Ottoman–Muslim civilization and the Arab lands. The differences between the two traditions related to their use of languages, religious changes, economic activities, and political affiliations—Christian Europe or Ottoman Islamicate traditions. This chapter relates mainly to the story of the eastern Sephardi Diaspora. This extended along vast zones, but its main actors lived and prospered in several important cities in the Ottoman Empire—such as Istanbul, Salonica, Edirne, and later Izmir—and in the classical Arab lands occupied by the Ottomans in the early sixteenth century, including the cities of Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem, and Safed.

During the first half of the sixteenth century, Safed became a vibrant hub of Jewish life due to its economic prosperity. This enabled the city to attract several waves of Jewish immigration from across the Mediterranean basin. The city still comprising a relatively small Jewish population, however, and in most respects could not compete with the large and established communities of major Ottoman cities, such as Istanbul or Salonica. Yet there was one aspect in which Safed enjoyed a significant edge over these cities: Torah and Talmud scholarship, in particular, and erudition, in general.