Rabbi Yaakov Culi - "Meam Loez"

Rabbi Yaakov ben Machir Culi - «Meam Loez» (1689-1732) - was a Talmudist and commentator on the Torah of the 17th-18th centuries. Yahrzeit - 19 Av Resting place - Istanbul, Turkey   His main work, by which he is known - «Meam Loez» - takes its name from the words of Tehillim (114:1): "Betzet Yisrael mi-Mitzrayim, beit Yaakov me'am lo'ez" - (When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Yaakov from a people of strange speech). He belonged to an exiled Spanish family and was the grandson and student of Moshe ibn Habib. In order to publish his grandfather's works, he left Tzfat, where he lived, and moved to Constantinople. While working on his grandfather's writings, he entered (in 1714) into a close relationship with the chief rabbi of Constantinople, Yehuda Rosanes (also known as «Mishneh LaMelech,» the title of his most important work), who at that time was generally regarded as the leading authority of the East. Rosanes appointed Culi as a Dayan, which, together with his position as a teacher, provided him with sufficient means of livelihood. In 1727, Culi published his grandfather's work «Shammot ba-Aretz,» a book of notes on various sections of the Talmud. That same year, Rosanes passed away. He left behind voluminous literary manuscripts in a highly chaotic state. A sage was needed to bring order to this chaos, and Culi was given this task. But even for him, this meant years of labor. First, in 1728, he edited Rosanes' book «Parashat Derachim» - a mixture of Midrash and halacha in content. Three years later, he finally published Rosanes' voluminous «Mishneh LaMelech,» one of the most famous commentaries on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, enriched with numerous important notes of his own. Culi wrote an introduction for both of these works. That same year, he also edited his grandfather's «Ezrat Nashim,» at the beginning of which are two of his own responsa. But Rabbi Yaakov Culi himself left behind a work - a commentary on the Torah titled «Meam Loez,» written in Salonika. This work, held in great esteem by the Jews of the East, is a very detailed encyclopedic commentary written in Ladino, devoted to Jewish life in all its aspects. Its material was drawn from the Talmud, Midrash, and other sacred books. However, Rabbi Culi did not manage to complete the entire work, and due to the enormous popularity of «Meam Loez,» other prominent rabbis of Turkey took upon themselves the task and completed the remaining volumes. He died young - at the age of 42, in Constantinople. Rabbeinu Chida wrote about Rabbi Yaakov Culi: «He was an expert in the study of Gemara, gematria, and commentaries, as we can easily see from his outstanding Sefer «Yalkut Meam Loez,» which he wrote to bring merit to Am Yisrael. Happy is he, and fortunate is his lot.» Rabbi Yaakov instructed that all the profits from the sale of «Meam Loez» be distributed between the local Yeshiva in Jerusalem and the Heshger Kollel in Constantinople. The first English translation was done by Aryeh Kaplan; this translation introduced Meam Loez to the English-speaking world. Although the original title of the Sefer was «Meam Loez,» the word «Yalkut» (anthology) was later added to the Hebrew edition.   A Cup of Coffee Our sages teach us that only what is hidden from the eyes of others is endowed with the blessings of Heaven. Rabbeinu Chida once told a story: «I heard a story about the great Rabbi Yaakov Culi, author of «Yalkut Meam Loez,» who once took upon himself to fast for 3 full days without interruption. In the afternoon, he knocked on someone's door to get something, and the host, naturally, invited him to sit down and served him a cup of coffee. In order not to reveal the fact that he was fasting, he accepted the coffee from his host's hands and drank it. Later, he had to fast for another 3 days to make up for having broken his fast with the coffee. His family members (who knew that he was supposed to be fasting) later learned what had happened. Truly, piety is the portion of the chosen few.   How the Almighty Separated Challah Rabbi Yaakov Culi, in his Midrash «Yalkut Meam Loez» (Bereishit 2:7), describes in detail how Hashem created man - by analogy with challah. «The dust of the earth mixed with water» - this is how the Almighty created the first man. Earth: «From red earth the Almighty created blood; from green earth the Almighty created the internal organs; from yellow earth the Almighty created human skin; from white earth He made the bones and sinews. The earth that would become Adam's body was gathered from all over the world; his torso - from Babylon, his arms and legs - from the rest of the world. For his head, the Almighty took earth from the holiest place in the world - the Temple Mount, where the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, always dwells.» The Midrash explains that this was done so that a person, wherever he dies and is buried, would be received back into the earth. [It is interesting to note the explanation of the Vilna Gaon, that the lands from which dust was not taken to create Adam - are unfit for life - these are mainly deserts and swamps].   Water The Almighty gathered water from all over the planet and created man from this water. Water was poured into the earth, kneaded, and shaped - the process of preparing challah can be compared to how the Almighty created Adam HaRishon.   May the merit of the Tzadik protect our people!   (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/879-Rabbi-Yaakov-Culi)