Years: 1685–1732
Primary city: Constantinople
Rabbi Yaakov Culi was a dayan in Constantinople and the initiator of the influential Ladino commentary series, MeAm Loez. He authored the foundational volumes on Sefer Bereshis and part of Sefer Shemos, writing in Judeo-Spanish to make traditional texts accessible to the wider Sephardic community. Although he died before completing the project, his work became a cornerstone of Judeo-Spanish literature and was continued by other scholars.