Few people epitomize an ideal more than Rabbi Elyah Lopian did during his nearly hundred-year lifetime. For three generations, he epitomized the Mussar ideal, and the name “Reb Elyah” was synonymous with Torah, piety, sincerity, wisdom — all the sterling traits that were associated with Rabbi Yisrael of Salant and his greatest disciples.

After nearly eight busy and productive decades in Eastern Europe and England, Reb Elyah “retired” to Israel, where he longed to sit before his Gemara on a back bench of an obscure bais midrash.

It was not to be. He was asked to become the Mashgiach (spiritual guide) of the yeshivah in Kfar Chassidim. At his age? A new career? At a stage in life when he yearned for personal spiritual fulfillment? The Chazon Ish told him that he must accept, because righteous people must continue to blossom and serve and teach in their old age.

So began a fruitful new chapter in a glorious life. He transformed little known Kfar Chassidim into a hub of Torah and Mussar. His life became a textbook of growth and greatness. A typical story: He heard that a non-religious teenager was spending a few days in Kfar Chassidim and had decided to stay for Shabbos, without permission. When Reb Elyah sent for him on Friday afternoon, the boy was sure he would be asked to leave. Imagine his surprise when the nongenarian Mashgiach handed him a package and said, “You surely did not bring Shabbos clothes. Here — I sent one of the students to buy clothes for you.” The visitor was shocked. But not the students of Kfar Chassidim. To them, it was typical of Reb Elyah.

Rabbi David J. Schlossberg is one of those students. He was close to Reb Elyah, molded by him. And now he brings Reb Elyah to us in this warm and inspiring biography, which is a textbook of saintliness. Every reader will be grateful — and elevated.