Yaakov Culi
Rabbi Yaakov Culi was one of the most prominent Torah scholars of his time, renowned for his work on the Me'am Lo'ez, a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) written in Ladino. Born in 1689 in Jerusalem, he was a descendant of a family that had been expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. Culi's work aimed to make the complex teachings of the Torah accessible to the laymen of his community, which was primarily composed of Sephardic Jews.
Throughout his life, Rabbi Culi dedicated himself to studying and teaching Torah. His greatest achievement, the Me'am Lo'ez, began as a project to provide a thorough yet understandable explanation of the entire Tanakh, written in the vernacular Ladino language to reach a broader audience. The Me'am Lo'ez is revered not only for its depth of scholarship but also for its clear and engaging narrative style, which has made it a beloved text among Sephardic communities around the world.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Yaakov Culi did not live to complete the Me'am Lo'ez. He passed away in 1732, having completed only the commentary on the Book of Bereshit (Genesis). After his death, other scholars continued his monumental task, with the work eventually being translated into Hebrew and other languages. His legacy endures through this seminal work, which continues to be studied and respected for its scholarly and educational value.