MIRELS, MESHULLAM ZALMAN BEN DAVID (NEUMARK):
German rabbi; born about 1620 at Vienna; died Nov. 28, 1706, at Altona. When, in 1670, the Jews were expelled from Vienna, he and his son Zeeb Wolf and other members of the Mirels family emigrated to Berlin. A few years later (1678) Mirels was elected chief rabbi ("ab bet din") of the communities Altona, Hamburg, and Wandsbeck, which position he held until his death. He was the father of a large family, ramified through Poland and Lithuania, and lived to see the fifth generation. His daughter Sarah was the wife of Ẓebi Ashkenazi (Ḥakam Ẓebi) and the mother of Jacob Emden.
One responsum written by Mirels is found in the collection "Eben ha-Shoham." See also
Bibliography:
- Jacob Emden, Megillat Sefer, ed. Kahana, pp. 10, 13, Warsaw, 1888;
- Dembitzer, Kelilat Yofi, i., 8a, 91b, 92a, Cracow, 1888;
- Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 328.
