Reb Menachem Nachum
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography:
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Gurvich, in Razsvyct, 1879, No. 7;
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Lipshitz, Nekrolog Rabbi Nokhim iz Grodno (reprinted from Russki Yevrei, 1879, No. 9), St. Petersburg, 1879;
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Ha-Ẓefirah, 1879, No. 42;
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Ha-Meliẓ, 1879, No. 43;
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Friedenstein, 'Ir Gibborim, pp. 95-96, Wilna, 1880.
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Rabbi Kaplan was well-versed in the Talmud and the poskim[
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Biography
Rabbi Nachum was born in Baisogala to Uziel Kaplan, a laborer in a whisky distillery,[ and his wife, Meida.]
In his youth, he studied under Rabbi Karpl Atlas of Baisogala[ After studying for a while at Ashmyany, he went on to study at the Yeshiva of Mir.]
When he was about twenty years old, he married Itta, the daughter of Yosef Eliezer
When he was in his early twenties, he decided to leave Nesvizh and traveled to Valozhyn, where he studied at the Volozhin Yeshiva under Rabbi Eliezer Yitzchak Freid.
Afterwards, he returned to Nesvizh
[ choosing instead the position of shammash in the Synagogue Chevra Shas][ in Horodna,]
In the last years of his life, he suffered from a serious Vertebral column disorder, a severe intestinal ailment, swelling of the feet, and other discomforts. Yet, on Simchat Torah, he led the congregation in spirited singing and dancing, clutching a Sefer Torah in one arm while his free hand held his stomach to ease the pain.
A Hebrew language biography of Rabbi Nachum was written by Rabbi Yisrael David Miller who knew Rabbi Nachum personally.[ Rabbi Miller was stricken by the cholera pandemic]
Rabbi Nachum died at Grodno on October 25, 1879.[ which took place the next day.][
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His son-in-law was Rabbi Gavriel Zev Margolis.
