 He was rabbi in Hamburg (1885–1887), district rabbi of Hesse-Nassau, Germany, (1887–1890) and in 1890 was appointed chief rabbi of Florence, Italy.In 1899 he became principal of Italy’s only rabbinical seminary, the Collegio Rabbinico Italiano when it transferred from Rome to Florence.Margulies was a powerful spiritual force in Italy and trained many of its religious leaders.