For Rabbi Eliezer Kuperman a"h, it all added up
Rabbi Kuperman, who passed away this week, was not a rosh chaburah. But if there was a spirit behind the facade of the aging mansion that serves as the yeshivah’s administrative office, Rabbi Kuperman was one of its keepers — with a quiet diligence, deep loyalty, and a fierce love for Torah and the yeshivah’s talmidim.
He wasn’t a typical bochur when he first came to Lakewood. Having grown up in Boro Park and worked as an accountant to support his family, Rabbi Kuperman arrived in 1959 with maturity, a professional background, and an insatiable cheshek to learn. Rav Aharon was initially hesitant to take a working bochur.
“You know, it’s easier to work than to learn,” the rosh yeshivah warned — but ultimately agreed to farher him. The farher never happened: A chance encounter between Rav Aharon and Rav Avraham Yaffen, who knew the young prospect and wholly endorsed him as a suitable candidate for the fledgling yeshivah, sealed his place in the relatively nascent Beis Medrash Govoha.
Once he was in, Rabbi Kuperman immersed himself fully in yeshivah life, and Rav Aharon in turn embraced his young charge — assigning him chavrusas, personally monitoring his progress, and even instructing his roommate to learn Navi with him nightly.
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