Avraham Shapira (; ,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

– 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 t ...

in the

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

world. Shapira had been the head of the Rabbinical court of

, and both a member and the head of the Supreme Rabbinic Court. He served as the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993. Shapira was the

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

of Mercaz haRav in Jerusalem, a position he held since Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook died in 1982.

Biography

Avraham Elkanah Shapira was born to a

ite family; his father was Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Shapira. As a child, he lived in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. In his youth, he studied at Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, later moving to the Hebron Yeshiva, where he studied under Rabbis Moshe Mordechai Epstein and Yechezkel Sarna. After his marriage, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook invited him to join Mercaz HaRav yeshiva. He corresponded, in his youth, with the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Zvi Pesach Frank, Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, and Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. In 1956, he was appointed as a member of the Jerusalem religious court by Chief Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog. In 1971, he was appointed Av Beit Din. Shapira was elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel in 1983, serving alongside Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, who was elected Sefardi Chief Rabbi. He died on the first day of Succot, 2007. Tens of thousands of people took part in his funeral procession on September 28, 2007. he was interred at the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery. 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 The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

, 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 from 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 Orthodox poskim Hebron Yeshiva alumni Etz Chaim Yeshiva (Jerusalem) alumni