Background
The Maharsha was born in Krakow, Poland. His father, Yehuda, was a Talmudist and both parents were descendants of rabbinic families - his mother Gitel was a cousin of Rabbi Yehuda Loew, the Maharal of Prague.
The Maharsha was born in Krakow, Poland. His father, Yehuda, was a Talmudist and both parents were descendants of rabbinic families - his mother Gitel was a cousin of Rabbi Yehuda Loew, the Maharal of Prague.
Eidels is also known as Maharsha (מהרש"א, a Hebrew acronym for "Our Teacher, the Rabbi Shmuel Eidels"). From early childhood, the Maharsha"s remarkable talents were evident. When he came of marriageable age, the Maharsha was offered many prestigious shidduchim (marriage partners), but he rejected them, asserting that he wanted to devote himself solely to Torah study.
He then moved to Posen and he established a yeshiva there.
Foreign twenty years all the expenses of the yeshiva were assumed by his mother-in-law. In appreciation of her support he adopted her name.
After her death, he served as rabbi in the following prominent communities: Chełm, Lublin and Ostroh. Eidels was also active in the Council of Four Lands.