Rabbi Eliezer Poupko (or Pupko) (1886–1961) was born in

Radin Radin is a surname and given name. Given name Radin (Persian: رادین) is also an Ancient Persian given name meaning "gentleman". Surname Notable people with the surname include: * Adolph Moses Radin (1848–1909), Polish-American rabbi * ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, on March 18, 1886. He attended the Telz yeshiva. Receiving

Semicha ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

in 1908, he served for twenty four years as chief rabbi of the Jewish community in

Velizh Velizh () is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Western Dvina, from Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History In the late 14th cen ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Rabbi Poupko was twice tried in 1930s for defying the religious policies of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and was sentenced to two years in a

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n prison. He served only part of that sentence as the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

rabbinate was able to win a commutation. Rabbi Poupko immigrated to the US in 1931, first serving congregations in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

and

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. In 1942, he became the Rabbi of the Aitz Chaim Congregation in

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. He was an honorary president and a member of the executive board of the

Union of Orthodox Rabbis The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (UOR), often called by its Hebrew name, Agudath Harabonim or (in Ashkenazi Hebrew) Agudas Harabonim ("union of rabbis"), was established in 1901 in the United States and is the oldest ...

of the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Rabbi Poupko married Pesha Chaya, a daughter of Rabbi , rabbi of Kenna near

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and subsequently of

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

. Their four oldest sons were sent to study in the Israel Meir Kagan's (Chofetz Chaim) yeshiva in Radin, and indeed many of Rabbi Poupko's children went on to play a pivotal role within the Jewish world. Rabbi Reuven Poupko published a

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by the name of ''Toras Reuven'' in Philadelphia in 1940, containing a warm approbation by Rabbi

Isser Zalman Meltzer Isser Zalman Meltzer (; February 6, 1870 – November 17, 1953),Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel" (1870 - 1953) was a Jewish rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He was known as the "Even HaEzel", after the title of his commentary on Rambam's ''Mishn ...

that praises the author's father. Rabbi Baruch Poupko became a leading American Rabbi and author of numerous articles, books and anthologies. One of Rabbi Poupko's sons-in-law was the renowned Rabbi Mordechai Savitzky, Chief Rabbi of

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and author of twenty-two works on the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

. Another was Rabbi

Gedalia Dov Schwartz Gedalia Dov Schwartz (January 24, 1925 — December 9, 2020) was an eminent American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and posek (halakhic authority) who lived in Chicago, Illinois. From 1991 to 2013, when he gave his position as Av Beth Din to Rabbi ...

Death

Rabbi Poupko died at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia on September 23, 1961. At the time of his death, he was the most distinguished rabbi in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. His wife Pesha Chaya outlived him, dying at the age of 87 in 1976.

References

American Jewish Yearbook 1963
*New York Times obituary *''Yizkor Meditations'',

Mishpacha ''Mishpacha'' () - Jewish Family Weekly is a Haredi weekly magazine package produced by The Mishpacha Group in both English and Hebrew. History ''Mishpacha'' is one of the four major English-language newspapers and magazines serving the Hared ...

Family First, Issue 110, October 2, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Poupko, Eliezer 1886 births 1961 deaths Lithuanian Orthodox rabbis American Orthodox rabbis Soviet rabbis 20th-century American rabbis 20th-century Lithuanian rabbis