12 Teves 5541
Rav Moshe Margulis was born to his father, Rav Shimon, in Keidan, Lithuania in the 5470s. As a young man, he served as Rav in several communities in Lithuania, but once he began to write his comprehensive commentary on the Yerushalmi, he moved from Lithuania and began to wander through the cities of Europe, in order to find ancient manuscripts that could help him in his writing.
Rav Moshe is considered the eminent commentator on the Talmud Yerushalmi, because he is the only one who wrote a comprehensive commentary on all four sedarim of the Yerushalmi. His commentary includes two parts, the first, Pnei Moshe, on the meaning of the pshat in the Yerushalmi, and the second, Mareh Hapanim, in which he expounds in depth on the Yerushalmi.
We can gain insight into his greatness in Torah, and the tremendous effort he invested in writing his commentary, from what Rav Moshe himself wrote in his sefer Mareh Hapanim on Maseches Shevuos (7 6): “I testify with Heaven and Earth as my witnesses that this commentary on Shas that I compiled is after research and delving and diligence with great effort...in all areas of this Shas and in all the Tosefta and in all of Shas Bavli, with the shittos of the Gaonim and their commentaries to the extent that I was able to attain.”
The Pnei Moshe passed away on 12 Teves 5541 in Brody, while he was on his way to Eretz Yisrael. Regarding his burial site, the records of the cemetery in Brody contain a remarkable entry: “On 21 Teves 5531, the gaon of Brody Rav Yosef Shatzkes passed away. Before his passing he said that his will was that after he passed away, the one buried next to him should be an expert in Yerushalmi, as he was, so that he could discuss it with him. Ten years later, the Pnei Moshe came with his sefer to sell, and he passed away and was buried next to Rav Shatzkes.” (Shenos Dor Vador, Vol. II, p 122)
