Birthdate: 1488 AD

Birthplace: Toledo, Spain

Died: March 24, 1575

Sixteenth-century Spanish-born rabbi Joseph Karo penned the last great codification of Jewish law, the Bet Yosef, later known as the Shulḥan ʿarukh. Expelled from Spain, he later settled in Palestine. Another of his notable works is the Maggid mesharim, a mystical diary that described visits by the Mishna.