Rabbi Eliezer Poupko (1886-1961) was born in Radin

Radin

Radin is a Persian name, which means a chivalrous man.Radin is an American surname, and may refer to:* Dean Radin , researcher and author* Joshua Radin , American songwriter...

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

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

Semicha

, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...

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

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

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

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and was sentenced to two years in a Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rabbinate was able to win a commutation.

Rabbi Poupko came to the USA in 1931, first serving congregations in Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...

 and Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

. In 1942, he became the Rabbi of the Aitz Chaim Congregation in Philadelphia. He was an honorary president and a member of the executive board of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis

Union of Orthodox Rabbis

The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada also known as the Agudath Harabonim , and sometimes as the UOR, was established in 1901 in the United States and is among the oldest organizations of Orthodox rabbis which could be described as having a Haredi worldview...

 of the United States and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Rabbi Poupko married Pesha Chaya, a daughter of the Rabbi of Kenna near Vilna and subsequently of Saratov

Saratov

-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...

. Their four oldest sons were sent to study in the Chofetz Chaim

Yisrael Meir Kagan

Yisrael Meir Poupko , known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life...

's yeshiva in Radin

Radun Yeshiva

Raduń Yeshiva, originally located in Raduń, Poland , was established by the Chofetz Chaim in 1869.-Origins:In 1869 when the Chofetz Chaim returned from Vashilyshok to Raduń his first action was to establish a group to whom he could spread the knowledge of Torah...

, and indeed many of Rabbi Poupko's children went on to play a pivotal role within the Jewish world. Rabbi Reuven Poupko published a Sefer by the name of Toras Reuven in Philadelphia in 1940, containing a warm approbation by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer

Isser Zalman Meltzer

Isser Zalman Meltzer, , was a famous Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel" - the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishne Torah....

 that praises the author's father. Rabbi Baruch Poupko

Baruch Poupko

Rabbi Dr. Baruch A. Poupko, born in Velizh, Russia, to Rabbi Eliezer and Pesha Poupko, was an American multi-lingual scholar, author, and lecturer....

 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 Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 and author of twenty-two works on the Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

. Another is Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz

Gedalia Dov Schwartz

Gedalia Dov Schwartz Gedalia Dov Schwartz Gedalia Dov Schwartz (born 24 January 1925 is an eminent Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and posek (halakhic authority) living in Chicago, Illinois...

.

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

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

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