Mrs. Miriam Elias, a”h

MONSEY

The passing of Mrs. Miriam Elias, a”h, on Wednesday, 11 months after the loss of her illustrious husband, Rabbi Joseph Elias, z”l, last August, marks the end of an era. Having come of age during the cataclysmic war years, she was witness to the remarkable resurgence of Torah life in America, at the side of a man who was one of the foremost mechanchim and thinkers of the generation.

Born in Germany in 1929, Miriam Eisenmann moved with her family to England in 1937, and was evacuated in 1939 to Shefford, where she studied under the legendary Dr. Judith Grunfeld, a”h. She also heard shiurim from Rav Eliezer Dessler, zt”l, and studied privately with his talmid, Rabbi Aryeh Carmell, z”l, while attending an upscale English school.

Upon graduation from the Gateshead seminary, where she had blazed a trail as that institution’s first student, she taught for Dr. Grunfeld until her marriage to Rabbi Joseph Elias in 1947. The dynamic couple made their mark in Williamsburg, Washington Heights and Detroit, before finally settling in Monsey in 1963, where they lived until the end of their lives. Deeply artistic and creative, Mrs. Elias worked for many years as a teacher, all the while crafting works of verbal and visual art, challenging her students, friends, and admirers to tap their inner resources and see with the eye of the mind.

The Elias marriage was a magnificent partnership, deeply rooted in the bedrock of respect and mutual appreciation. Mrs. Elias stood loyally behind her husband in his manifold endeavors which left a profound effect on the landscape of contemporary Torah Jewry, while he took pride in her talents and abilities, and encouraged her to develop them.

Always fresh and vital, she communicated the values of the old world in the idiom of the new. Her departure is emblematic of the passing of a generation.

Yehi zichrah baruch.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!