Yechiel Michel Epstein was born on 24 January 1829 in
Babruysk,
Russian Empire (presently in
Belarus) to Aharon Yitzchak and Rashka Epstein. His father was a builder and contractor who spend much of his time traveling for his work, often for the
Czarist government. He had one brother, Benjamin Beinush Epstein, who lived in
Saint Petersburg. The two brothers stayed in touch over the years, and when Epstein needed to travel to Saint Petersburg—usually to submit his writings to the
Russian censor before publishing—he would stay at his brother's house. As a child, Epstein studied in a traditional
Cheder. His original intent was to follow in his father's footsteps and work as a merchant, while dedicating time to daily
Torah study. In his youth, he engaged in trade and was fluent in Russian, a skill not commonly found among rabbis at that time. However, Rabbi Eliyahu Goldberg, rabbi of the nearby town of
Parichi (and a student of Rabbi
Chaim of Volozhin), took an interest in young Epstein and convinced him to leave commerce and dedicate himself to Torah study. Soon after, Epstein left for the famed
Volozhin yeshiva, where he studied for two years. In Volozhin, he met and started a lifelong friendship with Rabbi
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the
Netziv), who later became the
rosh yeshiva (head) of the Volozhin Yeshiva. After finishing his studies there, Epstein married Berlin's sister Michlah. Berlin later remarried Epstein's daughter Batya Miriam after the death of his first wife. After his marriage, Epstein returned to Babruysk and taught in the Altshul yeshiva there. He received
semicha (
rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Eliyahu Goldberg, who had been appointed rabbi and
Av Beit Din of the
Mitnagged community of Babruysk in 1852. By 1862, Epstein was serving as a
dayan (religious judge) on Goldberg's
beit din. Most of the family's income, however, came from his wife's fabric store. When eulogizing his wife, Epstein remarked—perhaps in exaggeration—that for 30 years Michlah ran the family store, and he did not even know where the store was located. In 1864, at the age of 35, Epstein was appointed rabbi of
Novozybkov (east of
Gomel, now
Bryansk region), a town with a large number of
Hasidic Jews, mainly adherents of
Chabad Lubavitch and
Chernobyl. Several months after arriving in Novozybkov, Epstein traveled to
Lubavitch where he visited Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, also known as the Tzemach Tzedek, the third
rebbe (spiritual leader) of the
Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic Jews. His major endeavor during this period was writing his first work,
Ohr LaYesharim, a commentary to
Sefer HaYashar of
Rabbeinu Tam. He printed the first volume of this work in 1869, but lacked the funds to publish more. In 1874, after ten years as rabbi in Novozybkov, Epstein was appointed the rabbi of
Navahrudak, where he served for 34 years and until his death. He was recognized as a
posek (decisor of
Jewish law) and composed most of his writings in there. Epstein was involved in many charitable endeavors. He was particularly close to Rabbi
Shmuel Salant, the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, and wrote extensively on the obligation of all Jews to support the
Rabbi Meir Baal Haneis charity that Rabbi Salant founded in Israel in 1860. Epstein died on 22
Adar II 5668 (25 March 1908) and is buried in Navahrudak. ==Children==