Rav Yosef Engel, rav of Krakow and Vienna (1859-1919). Born in Austrian Poland, his rebbe refused to teach him any longer when he reached the age of 12, and between that age and his marriage at 19, he wrote eleven sefarim. Among his sefarim were Gilyonei Hashas, Shiv’im Panim LaTorah Lekach Tov, Esvan D’Oraysa, and Beis HaOtzar, a Talmudic encyclopedia. His only child, Miriam, married the heir to the leadership of the Kotzker chassidim, but he abdicated that position in order to remain near his father-in-law, Rav Yosef. At age 46, Rav Yosef left his wealthy father-in-law’s home and, for the first time, had to seek a living. He found a position as one of several rabbinical judges in Krakow.
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