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Eli was born in Kishinev, Moldova in 1872. Growing up, he had four siblings: Golda, Joseph, Samuel, and Bertha. In the 1890s, Eli and three of his four siblings made their way to South Africa. During the Boer War, Eli and his brother Joseph fought with the Dutch. After the war, Eli went to work for his brother-in-law selling ostrich feathers in various cities around the world. One of his trips took him to Toronto, where he attended the First Roumanian Hebrew Congregation Adath Israel and met his future wife, Leah. Eli decided to stay in Ontario, neglecting to visit the remaining cities on his itinerary.

Eli and Leah married in 1909. From about 1911 until 1922, they lived in Gravenhurst, where they ran a general store on the main strip. The two had four children: a son, a daughter, and a pair of twins (a boy and a girl). In 1922, the family moved to Mactier, where they opened another general store. By 1926, Leah was living with the children in London, Ontario while Eli continued to operate the general store in Mactier. Despite the distance, he saw the family regularly. Around 1935, Eli left Mactier for London. He remained in London until 1942, when he moved to Toronto. He passed away in 1960.