1798 - 1870 DOV BERESH MEISELS (Poland)
Rabbi, banker, and Polish nationalist. Meisels was a descendent of Moses Isserles and authored Chidushei Mahardam, a commentary on the Sefer ha-Mitzvot of Maimonides. He became rabbi of Cracow and later of Warsaw. Meisels supported Polish (Cracow) independence from Russia and Austria (where he became a member of parliament (see 1861)). These views led to his frequent expulsions and imprisonment by the Czarist authorities (see 1848). Upon his death, the Russian authorities even banned any obituaries for him in the press. His funeral in Warsaw was attended by thousands.
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