Nisson Wolpin

Rabbi Wolpin was born in 1932[2] in Seattle, Washington to Bentzion and Kaila Wolpin. His parents, immigrants from Europe, lost 13 of their 15 children to childhood diseases prior to their coming to the United States.[5]

During his formative years, Seattle didn't have any fit Jewish schools for him to attend, and he therefore had no other option other than attending a local public school.[4] Like his three[5] brothers, he attended a Talmud Torah in the afternoon. At age 15 he was sent to Yeshiva Torah Vodaath.[2][6]

Wolpin was one of "a small cadre of talmidim" selected by Gedaliah Schorr to be students at a Los Angeles-based yeshiva founded in 1952 by Simcha Wasserman.[7]

During his adult years as a married man, Rabbi Wolpin served as a rebbi (teacher of Torah) at Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael in Queens, an elementary yeshiva for Orthodox Jewish boys. In 1970, he was offered the position of editor of The Jewish Observer, a newspaper published by Agudath Israel of America.[8] Before accepting the position, he approached Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky, who told him: "Until now you were a mechanech (educator) of children. From now on you will be a mechanech for adults."[4] For several years he had a role in Olomeinu, the children's periodical, as well.[5][9]

In 2010, Rabbi Wolpin and his wife moved to Israel,[2] where he learned in a kollel.[4]

On April 24, 2017, he died in Jerusalem, survived by his wife, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. One obituary referred to him as "father of the flourishing chareidi press in the English language today."[10]