Ephraim Zalman Margulies (sometimes transcribed as Margolis) (19 December 1762 – 24 August 1828) ( he, אפרים זלמן בן מנחם מאניש מרגליות) was a Galician rabbi born in

Brody Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...

, brother of Chaim Mordechai Margulies.

Biography

He received his

Talmudic The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

education at different

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

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 A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stud ...

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 Chayim Orach Chayim, (''manner/way of life'') is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of Halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim. This section addresses aspects of Jewish law pertinent to the Hebrew calendar (be it the daily, weekly, monthly, o ...

'' * ''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

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

* ''Matteh Efrayim'' (Zolkiev, 1834), on the ritual laws to be observed from the beginning of the month of

Elul Elul ( he, אֱלוּל, Standard ''ʾElūl'', Tiberian ''ʾĔlūl'') is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a month of 29 days. Elul usually occurs in August� ...

until after the

Feast of Tabernacles or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tishre ...

, as well as on the regulations regarding the

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

of orphans * ''Zera' Efrayim'' (Lemberg, 1853), commentary on the ''

Pesikta Rabbati ''Pesikta Rabbati'' (Hebrew: פסיקתא רבתי ''P'siqta Rabbita'', "The Larger P'siqta") is a collection of aggadic midrash (homilies) on the Pentateuchal and prophetic readings, the special Sabbaths, and so on. It was composed around 845 C ...

''
Safah Ne’emanah
(Budapest, 1929Even though the year 5689 includes 1928, o
page 7
the introduction is dated as being written in Tammuz 5689. Therefore, it could not have been printed in 1928.), responsum on whether it is permitted to pray in the vernacular Many other works by him are still in manuscript (as of 1906).

References

* 1762 births 1828 deaths People from Brody Ukrainian Orthodox rabbis 19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire Orthodox rabbis from Galicia (Eastern Europe) 18th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire Authors of books on Jewish law Rosh yeshivas {{Judaism-bio-stub