Jacob Huli’s Me‘am lo‘ez (From a People of Foreign Tongue)

Descended from prominent rabbinic families, Jacob Huli was born in Jerusalem or Safed, and later traveled to Constantinople to publish his grandfather’s writings. There he completed his studies, becoming a rabbinic judge, teacher, and editor. Perceiving a dearth of religious knowledge and practice in the wake of Sabbateanism, Huli resolved to compose a text accessible to all levels of Jewish society, drawing on numerous sources and tackling a wide range of topics in Jewish life. The result is one of the most important Ladino works, the biblical commentary Me-‘am lo‘ez (From a People of Foreign Tongue). He published the first volume, his commentary on Genesis, in 1730. By the time of his death, he had completed the commentary on Exodus, up to chapter 27. Other scholars wrote commentaries on further biblical books, following his example. Me-‘am lo‘ez became extremely popular; numerous editions were published, and Huli is considered one of the fathers of Ladino literature. He also composed a halakhic work, Simanim li-oraita (Signs of the Bible), which was never published.