Eliyahu ben Avraham Mizrachi was a talmudic and biblical commentator and posek (legal decisor) who served as chief rabbi (chakham bashi) of Turkey. In addition to his mastery of Torah literature, he knew Greek and Arabic, and was well-tutored in secular subject, particularly astronomy and mathematics. He is credited with devising a method of finding cube roots. He was born in Constantinople and studied under R. Eliyahu Zaken of Constantinople and R. Yehuda Mintz of Padua. In 1500, he succeeded R. Moshe Capsali as chief rabbi of Turkey and was appointed by the sultan to continue his predecessor's practice of adjudicating disputes between Jews. Although he cancelled the prohibition against teaching Talmud to Karaite students and was known for his great tolerance, he nevertheless opposed intermarriage with Karaites. He also opposed what he considered foolish customs and maintained that they were not binding. He worked tirelessly for communal welfare despite his own frail constitution, especially assisting the wave of Spanish Jews who came to the Ottoman Empire with the Spanish expulsion in 1492. His most famous work is his super commentary on Rashi's Torah commentary. Other works are "Tosafei SeMaG" on the SeMaG, his responsa "Teshuvot Re'em," and a work on mathematics entitled "Sefer HaMispar."
Works on Sefaria
A