Thousands of bnei Torah led by gedolei Yisroel
participated in the levaya last Sunday night of HaRav
Eliezer Lopian zt'l, one of the great builders of the
Torah world in Europe and one of the leading marbitzei
Torah of our generation.
HaRav Eliezer Lopian was born on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 5670
(1910). His father was HaRav Eliyohu Lopian of Kelm, later a
maggid shiur in Eitz Chaim Yeshiva in London and the
mashgiach of Yeshivas Kfar Chassidim in Eretz Yisroel.
In this home he developed into a man of Torah and
yir'oh, guided by the light of truth.
Already in his childhood years he displayed the special
character traits that remained throughout his lifetime and
earned him the admiration and esteem of gedolei hador.
He showed tremendous hasmodoh, promising talents, a
noble spirit and exemplary middos, always careful to
respect others and to receive them well--great and small
alike.
With his formidable legacy of Torah, untainted yiras
Shomayim, halochoh and hashkofoh that he absorbed
in his father's home, he immersed himself wholly in Torah,
which became the essence of his life.
As a bochur at Yeshivas Telz he cleaved to the roshei
yeshivos, who nurtured his growth. They saw him as a kli
chemdoh who retained every drop of the Torah he received
and promised to light up the skies of Yiddishkeit. He
was one of the yeshiva's leading bochurim and a jewel
in its crown.
In 5692 (1931), after his mother's petiroh, he joined
his father in England where he married the daughter of HaRav
Moshe Leib Schneider, rosh yeshivas Toras Emes
("Schneider's") in London. He served as a ram at the
yeshiva and many of his talmidim went on to build the
world of Torah and yir'oh in Europe, the U.S. and
Eretz Hakodesh.
The yeshiva sent him to Morocco for several years where, with
great mesirus nefesh, he drew young Jews closer to
Torah and the yeshiva world.
Upon returning to England he continued to deliver
shiurim at Schneider's. In 5717 (1957) he came to
Israel and in Tiveria he set up Yeshivas HaGalil where his
father regularly gave talks. A few years later Rav Leizer
returned to London, to resume delivering shiurim in
his father-in-law's yeshiva.
HaRav Lopian's profound shiurim left a lasting
impression on listeners and guided bnei Torah towards
a proper approach to ma'amorei Chazal and analyzing
sugyos.
His fascinating Shev Shemaitesa shiurim, extolled by
roshei yeshivos for their fabulous foundations from all over
Shas, drew many bnei yeshivos. These
shiurim demonstrated prodigious genius and mastery of
all of the Torah's treasures.
He transmitted an eternal kinyon of Torah, halochoh
and yiras Shomayim to thousands of talmidim,
who saw in him the image of a great oveid Hashem, a
man whose entire life, whose very heart and soul were wholly
devoted to serving Hashem with every ounce of his strength.
They viewed him as a compassionate figure seeking their best
interests and navigating them along the course leading to
Beis Hashem, based on the legacy he received from his
father and his rabbonim.
Throughout his lifetime HaRav Lopian remained completely
humble. This trait, along with his other attributes, was
deeply ingrained in the weekly talks and regular
vaadim he gave both in the yeshivos where he served
and in his own home.
His admiring talmidim fondly recall a fatherly figure
who was involved in every detail of their lives, particularly
their spiritual path on the way to Beis Hashem. He
shared the burden of all of their problems and provided the
comforting support of a compassionate father.
He moved to Israel 27 years ago, to live near Yeshivas Beis
Eliyohu, named after his father and headed by his son-in-law,
HaRav Mordechai Broide. There he served as a marbitz
Torah and set an example through his sublime
tefillos. For several decades he gave shiurim
and talks to talmidim from the yeshiva and from other
heichalei Torah who came to hear him speak.
HaRav Lopian left behind dozens of notebooks containing his
chiddushim, including many on tefilloh. On one
occasion he revealed that not a single day goes by without
him generating a chiddush on tefilloh. His
talmidim and family members plan to publish his
chiddushim on every sugya in Shas. Many
of these writings have already appeared in various Torah
publications under the pen name Eliezer Zeira.
HaRav Lopian devoted much of his efforts to matters of
chinuch hador, often consulting with Maran HaRav
Shach, zt'l, who was very fond of him.
Upon his arrival in Eretz Yisroel Rav Lopian was asked by
leading roshei yeshivos to head various yeshivos, but
for a number of reasons he declined these offers.
Nonetheless, his home was a citadel for those in search of
Torah and mussar.
He fell ill recently and Sunday afternoon returned his soul
to his Maker at the age of 92. Before the levaya set
out from Bnei Brak's Yeshivas Beis Hillel, divrei
his'orerus were delivered by his talmid HaRav
Machlof Fachima, his son-in-law HaRav Avraham Yitzchok Barzel
and his talmid HaRav Yosef Azran.
The procession continued toward Yeshivas Grodno-Yismach
Moshe, and from there to the Shamgar Funeral Home in
Yerushalayim en route to Har Hazeisim, where he was buried
alongside his great father.
HaRav Eliezer Lopian is survived by his son R' Yitzchok Dovid
Lopian; his sons-in-law HaRav Mordechai Broide, rosh yeshivas
Beis Eliyohu, HaRav Avraham Yitzchok Barzel, one of the heads
of Yeshivas Mir in Achuzas Brachfeld, and HaRav Eliyohu
Krauser; also by grandchildren and great-grandchildren who
are gedolei Torah and yir'oh; and the thousands
of talmidim to whom he transmitted his legacy of Torah
and yir'oh.
