Both volumes include responsa written in Nikopol and in Safed; those written in the latter town reveal a continuing dispute with R. Moses di Trani, his colleague, along with R. David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, on the bet din of Safed. R. Caro generally inclined to a more stringent view than did R. Trani. They disagreed on the laws appertaining to shemittah, which fell in 1574 (Avkat Rokhel, nos. 22–25) and in a case involving the inheritance of the ketubbah of a widow (Responsa Beit Yosef, Ketubbot, no. 2ff.). In order to give a complete picture, there are included on certain topics the responsa of the contemporary rabbis on the question under discussion with the result that the Avkat Rokhel contains responsa of R. Moses di Trani, R. Jacob Berab, R. Joseph Taitazak, and R. Elijah Capsali, as well as of rabbis in Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. R. Caro stoutly defended his point of view against that of those who differed with him, and though usually they refer to one another in terms of the highest respect, they sometimes indulge in strong language in refuting opposing views. On the other hand in one of his responsa (ibid., no. 66) on the question of the permissibility of the use of a curtain (parokhet) in the synagogue, embroidered with figures of hinds, he states emphatically that it is completely permissible, though he forbids three-dimensional figures, especially of lions (ibid., no. 63). Nevertheless he insists that since there is an ordained rabbi in the city from which the question came, his decision is subject to that rabbi's approval, and should he forbid it his ruling must be accepted. Some of his responsa (e.g., ibid., nos. 31, 157) consist of only one sentence, in which he gives his decision without any discussion, and in one responsum he specifically states that "it is not my purpose to bring all the proofs and fill the pages with mere quantity."

מעבר לשער: הקדמת בן הרב... הצעיר יאודה... יש קרוב לד"ך שנה שנלקח... ארון האלהים... והנני מתחיל להדפיס תשובות ושיטות... שהם היותר מוכנים ומנוקי השגיה. דף פג-ק,א: חידושין... על מסכת קידושין, כתובות, גיטין. דף קמח-קנד: תשובו' אלו מצאתי מדודי... ר' יצחק (בכמוהר"ר יוסף בכמוהר"ר אפרים) קארו זלה"הוהעתקתים פה אצל תשובותי. בדיני יבום וחליצה. ר' יצחק היה דודו של המחבר. כולל גם תשובות רבות מחכמי ה דור בעניינים שהמחבר זן בהם. תשובות המחבר על ענייני טור אורח חיים טור יורה דעה וטור חשן משפט יצאו כספר בפני עצמו בשם: אבקת רוכל. עיין למעלה. החידושים למסכתות הנז' חזרו ונדפסו גם בספרים מיוחדים. עיין למעלה: חידושי ביתי יוסף.