Joseph Karo was a prominent Jewish scholar and legal authority born in 1488 in Spain. He is best known for his work, the Shulchan Aruch, which is a comprehensive code of Jewish law. This influential text has been widely studied and followed in Jewish communities around the world. Karo later moved to Safed, a city in Israel, where he became a leading figure in the Kabbalistic movement. His contributions to Jewish law and mysticism have had a lasting impact, making him a central figure in Jewish history and scholarship.