[1] Merzbacher's father, a small grocery store operator, sent him to Moses Sofer in Pressburg, where he received a rabbinical degree.
He successfully passed the examination after studying in either Erlangen or Munich, but later research suggested he never received a higher degree from either university.
The congregation didn't renew his appointment after he gave a sermon criticizing the practice of married women covering their hair.
He was ordered by Emanu-El's board of directors to write a prayer book in 1849, but he didn't complete it for another six years.
[2] On October 21, 1856, Merzbacher was walking home from Emanu-El after leading the morning service of Simchat Torah when he died from a pulmonary hemorrhage.
His funeral was held at his home and was attended by New York City's German elite and members by various congregations, but not by the trustees, rabbis, and chazans of the Orthodox synagogues.