Tzippa Lopian

Rebbetzin Tziporah Lopian, Gateshead

Last Thursday afternoon, 20 Av (August 25), came the news from Gateshead of the petiroh of Rebbetzin Tzipa Lopian, wife of the late rosh yeshiva of Gateshead Yeshiva, Rabbi Leib Lopian, son of Rabbi Elya zt"l.

The Rebbetzin was born in Manchester in 1916 to distinguished parents from Lithuania, Rabbi and Mrs. Chaim Moshe Levy. He was an outstanding talmid chochom. He later lived in Petersfield and brought a melamed there to teach his children Torah. When she married her great husband, she left the material comforts among which she had grown up to go to the Torah community in Gateshead. There she led a simple life, totally dedicated to the Torah of her husband zt"l.

The levaya took place Friday afternoon, giving a chance for all the children to arrive from abroad. Although it was bein hazmanim, nevertheless a very large crowd assembled, coming in from all local holiday resorts, those on holiday in Gateshead and the Gateshead kehilloh. They followed the aron from Whitehall Road, where she had lived with her choshuva son-in-law the Gateshead Rosh Yeshiva and her eldest daughter Rebbetzin Gurwicz, for the last three years.

Outside the yeshiva, the first maspid was her son-in- law, the Gateshead Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Avrohom Gurwicz, followed by her eldest son, Rabbi Gershon Lopian, rov of Edgware Yeshurun, Rabbi Dovid Lopian, rosh yeshiva Mikdash Melech in New York, and Rabbi Aharon Lopian, rosh yeshiva Lev Aryeh in Jerusalem. Each spoke movingly on a different theme of the tzidkus of the nifteres, her heartfelt tefillos and shiurim.

Her other sons-in-law are roshei yeshiva and rabbonim: Rabbi Avrohom Karp of Scranton, USA, Rabbi Yaakov Kravitz of France, Rabbi Shmuel Keller of Cleveland, USA, and the late Rabbi Shaul Kagan, who established the yeshiva and kollel in Pittsburgh, USA, now led by her grandson Rabbi Aharon Kagan.

Rebbetzin Lopian lived in Gateshead since 1943 and was buried next to her husband. She was zoche to see five doros yeshorim and following the derochim of previous generations in Torah ve'avodoh.