ר׳ גרשון לופיאן

ר׳ גרשון לופיאן (approximately 1938–30 January 2014) was a British dayan, communal rabbi and widely consulted halakhic authority. He was the eldest son of ר׳ אריה לייב לופיאן, later rosh yeshiva in Gateshead, and Tzipa, and a grandson of the mussar teacher ר׳ אליהו לופיאן. His education linked the British and Israeli yeshiva worlds: he learned at Gateshead Yeshiva, under his grandfather at Kfar Hasidim, at Hebron Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and under ר׳ חנוך העניך אהרנטרוי at Sunderland Kollel. Sources report that he received semikhah from ר׳ שלמה זלמן אויערבך, ר׳ חנוך העניך פאדווא and ר׳ משה פיינשטיין. From 1976 until retiring in 2006 he led Yeshurun Federation Synagogue in Edgware, afterward remaining its emeritus rabbi. As a dayan of the Federation of Synagogues he became especially known for practical rulings concerning family law, niddah and marital difficulties. Memorial accounts consistently emphasize that he answered questions at all hours, considered the circumstances of the individual rather than treating halakhah mechanically, and trained younger rabbis through practical shimush and semikhah. After retirement he continued making himself available by telephone for questions from Britain and abroad. He died in London on 30 January 2014 and was buried the next day at Edmonton Federation Cemetery. The Federation’s later ShailaText service was dedicated to his memory as an extension of his accessible, confidential model of pastoral halakhic guidance.