Ephraim Zalman Margolis
Encyclopedia
Ephraim Zalman Margolis was a Galician rabbi born in Brody
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s, in which he distinguished himself for the acuteness of his intellect and for his astonishing memory. His correspondence with Ezekiel Landau and other leading Talmudists soon gained for him a high reputation. He established a banking-house which proved so successful that within a short time he became quite wealthy. In 1785 he published his responsa entitled Bet Hadash ha-Hadashot, and in the following year the rabbis of Brody elected him one of their number. Being of independent means, he opened in his house a yeshivah of which he was the head; several of his pupils became eminent rabbis.
Many other works by him are still in manuscript (as of 1906).
Brody
Brody is a city in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Brody Raion , and is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately 90 kilometres northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv...
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Biography
He received his Talmudic education at different yeshivaYeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s, in which he distinguished himself for the acuteness of his intellect and for his astonishing memory. His correspondence with Ezekiel Landau and other leading Talmudists soon gained for him a high reputation. He established a banking-house which proved so successful that within a short time he became quite wealthy. In 1785 he published his responsa entitled Bet Hadash ha-Hadashot, and in the following year the rabbis of Brody elected him one of their number. Being of independent means, he opened in his house a yeshivah of which he was the head; several of his pupils became eminent rabbis.
Works
Margolis was considered a high rabbinical authority. He published the following works:- Bet Efrayim (2 vols., Lemberg, 1809-10), commentary on parts of the Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah
- Oration at the funeral of Rabbi Meir Kristianopoler (ib. 1815)
- Bet Efrayim (4 parts, ib. 1818), responsa on the four parts of the Shulchan 'Arukh
- Yad Efrayim (Dubno, 1820), commentaries on Shulchan Arukh, Orach ChayimOrach ChayimOrach Chayim "manner of life" is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of Halakha , Arba'ah Turim. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law primarily pertinent to the Hebrew calendar...
- Sha'are Efrayim (ib. 1820), on the rules pertaining to the reading of the Law
- Yad Efrayim (Zolkiev, 1823), extensive commentaries on the names of men and of women to be employed in letters of divorce
- Shem Efrayim (Berdychev, 1826), commentary on the TorahTorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
- Matteh Efrayim (Zolkiev, 1834), on the ritual laws to be observed from the beginning of the month of ElulElulElul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
until after the Feast of Tabernacles, as well as on the regulations regarding the KaddishKaddishKaddish is a prayer found in the Jewish prayer service. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy different versions of the Kaddish are used functionally as separators between sections of the service...
of orphans - Zera' Efrayim (Lemberg, 1853), commentary on the Pesikta RabbatiPesikta RabbatiPesikta Rabbati or P'sqita Rabbita is a collection of Aggadic Midrash on the Pentateuchal and prophetic lessons, the special Sabbaths, etc. It was composed around 845 CE and probably called "rabbati" to distinguish it from the earlier Pesiḳta.In common with the latter it has five entire...
Many other works by him are still in manuscript (as of 1906).