Dr. Eliezer Ehrenpreis distinguished himself as a brilliant mathematician by the age of twenty-three by proving what would later become known as the Malgrange-Ehrenpreis Theorem. He was a talented pianist, and ran the New York City marathon each year until he was 77. But as great as his passion was for mathematics, marathons, and music, the moment that he considered the crowning glory of his career when Rav Moshe Feinstein ztz”l called him a talmid chacham.
Dr. Eliezer (Leon) Ehrenpreis was once present at Mesivta Tiferes Jerusalem when a man came to meet Rav Moshe Feinstein ztz”l. Upon first laying eyes on the gadol who was physically slight in stature the man remarked in surprise “Er iz a kleine mentsch!” [He’s a small man!] “No no ” Dr. Ehrenpreis replied shaking his head. “Er is a zeyer groyse mentsch!”
Often another great mind will appreciate aspects of another person’s greatness that others will miss. Everyone revered Rav Moshe for his astonishing erudition and humble personality but few were truly able to appreciate the depth and subtlety of Rav Moshe’s thinking. Such a person was Eliezer Ehrenpreis a world-renowned mathematical genius who became a devoted lifelong follower of Rav Moshe.
Dr. Ehrenpreis who was niftar this past Elul at the age of eighty distinguished himself early in life. By age twenty-three he had earned his doctorate by proving what became known as the Malgrange-Ehrenpreis Theorem. (For the mathematically uninitiated explains Dr. Marvin Knopp of Temple University this was an important foundation of the modern theory of differential equations which in turn which helped form the theoretical underpinning for much of modern technological innovation.)
Ehrenpreis went on to a long and productive career in which he served on an all-star lineup of faculties: NYU’s Courant School of Mathematical Sciences Yeshiva University’s Belfer Graduate School of Science Brandeis University Princeton University Yale Harvard the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton the Sorbonne Hebrew University Bar-Ilan and Kyoto University in Japan.
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