Avraham Shapira ( he, אברהם אלקנה כהנא שפירא; 20 May 1914,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
– 27 September 2007) was a prominent
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
in the
Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...
world. Shapira had been the head of the
Rabbinical court
A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...
of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, and both a member and the head of the Supreme Rabbinic Court. He served as the
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Co ...
from 1983 to 1993. Shapira was the
rosh yeshiva of
Mercaz haRav
Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...
in Jerusalem, a position he held since Rabbi
Zvi Yehuda Kook
Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Pal ...
died in 1982.
Biography
Avraham Elkanah Shapira was born to a
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
ite family; his father was Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Shapira. As a child, he lived in the
Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and would pray at the
Western Wall
The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...
each morning.
In his youth, he studied at
Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, later moving to the
Hebron Yeshiva
Hebron Yeshiva, also known as ''Yeshivas Hevron'', or Knesses Yisroel, is a yeshiva devoted to high-level study of the Talmud. It originated in 1924 when the roshei yeshiva and 150 students of the Slabodka Yeshiva, known colloquially as the "mother ...
, where he studied under Rabbis
Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866–1933) was rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century. He is also one of the founders of the city of Had ...
and
Yechezkel Sarna. After his marriage, Rabbi
Zvi Yehuda Kook
Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Pal ...
invited him to join
Mercaz HaRav
Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...
yeshiva. He corresponded, in his youth, with the
Chazon Ish
Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz (7 November 1878 – 24 October 1953), also known as the Chazon Ish () after his magnum opus, was a Belarusian-born Orthodox rabbi who later became one of the leaders of Haredi Judaism in Israel, where he spent his ...
, Rabbi
Zvi Pesach Frank, Rabbi
Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, and Rabbi
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer ( he, איסר זלמן מלצר) (February 6, 1870 – November 17, 1953),Isser Zalman Meltzer "Even HaEzel" (1870 - 1953) was a famous Lithuanian Jewish and Belarusian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also kn ...
.
In 1956, he was appointed as a member of the Jerusalem religious court by Chief Rabbi
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog ( he, יצחק אייזיק הלוי הרצוג; 3 December 1888 – 25 July 1959), also known as Isaac Herzog or Hertzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasted from 1921 to 1936. From 1936 until his deat ...
. In 1971, he was appointed
Av Beit Din.
Shapira was elected
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel in 1983, serving alongside Rabbi
Mordechai Eliyahu
Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu ( he, מרדכי צמח אליהו, March 3, 1929 – June 7, 2010, on the Hebrew calendar: 21 Adar I, 5689 - 25 Siwan, 5770), , who was elected Sefardi Chief Rabbi. His wife Penina reportedly spent election day at the Western Wall, praying that her husband not be elected, as the position would put him in the political and secular limelight.
He died on the first day of
Succot
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
, 2007.
Fifteen days earlier, on the preceding
Rosh Hashana
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
, he had been brought to prayers in a wheelchair. Within days, he was hospitalized, and did not recover.
Tens of thousands of people took part in his funeral procession on September 28, 2007. Occurring on the eve of
Shabbat, the procession stretched from its starting point at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, through the streets of Jerusalem, past the original location of the yeshiva in the Geula neighbourhood, and terminated at the
Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery
The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. It is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf in the sixteenth century.[ ...]
, where Rabbi Shapira was interred.
Shapira and his wife Penina had four sons. As per his will, his son Rabbi
Yaakov Shapira was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Mercaz HaRav after him.
[ Avraham Shapira (Hebrew)]
Views
During the
Oslo Accords, Shapira ruled that handing over territories violates Jewish law. He also called on soldiers to refuse orders to dismantle Jewish communities during the 2005
disengagement from Gaza.
Published works
* ''Shiurey Maran HaGra Shapira'' – A summary of the rabbi's lectures, comprising six volumes
* ''Minchat Avraham'' – A collection of original halachic essays, comprising three volumes
* ''Morasha'' – Original essays on various topics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapira, Avraham
1914 births
2007 deaths
Ashkenazi Jews in Ottoman Palestine
Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Israeli Ashkenazi Jews
20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem
Chief rabbis of Israel
Religious Zionist rosh yeshivas
Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives
Chardal