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R. Nachman Yehuda Eidel son of R. Eliezer Lipman Margolies

1)

Jēkabpils / Jakobstadt

Born on 7 Menachem Av 55922) (3 August 1832) in Vilna. A descendant of the Maharal of Prague.

He served as rabbi here from 5630 (1870) and also as official government rabbi3) for 20 years.4)

He was afterward accepted as rabbi in Mitau, where he served in the rabbinate until his passing on 12 Shevat 5658.5)

He engaged in halakhic exchange with R. Aharon Zeleg Zioni — responsa Zioni, vol. 1, section 1, clause 8.

He appears in the list of approvers for the book HaMadrich (second edition, Pressburg 5662).6)

His biography and eulogies were printed by his student R. Levi Avitzinsky in the book Hadarat Tzvi (Piotrków 5674).

Ir Vilna, p. 216 and there in note 7. Hadarat Tzvi, p. 3 ff.

Latvia and Rabbis

1)
In all sources and also on his tombstone his name is written Nachman Eidel, but in his responsum in the responsa _Zioni_ and in the approbation below he signs “Nachman Yehuda Eidel.”
2)
In Ir Vilna — 5593.
3)
He is signed as rabbi here in the registration books already from the month of Tevet 5630 (January 1870) until the beginning of the month of Tevet 5651 (beginning of December 1890). He is also signed as official rabbi in the registration books of the Griva community in 1879 and in 1890.
4)
In Ir Vilna it is written that in 5650 he was accepted as rabbi in Kreutzburg nearby, and afterward was accepted as rabbi in Mitau. But this does not appear in the text of his tombstone inscription, and perhaps he was there only for a short time.
5)
His photograph from the website https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/jelgava/Nakhman.html.
6)
In the responsa Trumat Yaakov, vol. 1, by R. Yaakov Meir Yaka, printed in the year 5670, an approbation from him dated Wednesday, 9 Sivan 5658 was printed. But this is apparently an error, since he passed away on 12 Shevat 5658. However, in the 5670 edition of this book, this approbation appears letter for letter with the identical date but only the year changed — 5662. The matter is puzzling. Moreover, 9 Sivan 5658 fell on a Monday and not a Wednesday, and likewise in 5662 it fell on holy Shabbat. Furthermore, in his signature in the approbation there, his father's name is written as Eliyahu, when in fact his name was Eliezer Lipman, as written on his tombstone and in several places.