Rabbi Refael Shapiro (1837–1921) was the famed

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 the Volozhin yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, (now Valozhyn,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

), and a son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the ''Netziv'').Yeshiva Eitz Chaim Volozhin
Rav Refael Shapiro
accessed 20 April 2016 After the Volozhin yeshiva was closed down in 1892 by order of the Russian government, he reopened it, albeit on a smaller scale in 1899. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik of Brisk, now in Belarus, and is known as the ''Toras Refael'' after his primary work. Rabbi Shapiro ordained Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman (who would eventually become one of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

s) who studied in the

Kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...

of the Volozhin yeshiva before opening his own yeshiva in the neighboring town of Vishnyeva (Vishnevo, Belarus). Additionally, Rabbi Shapiro gave

Semicha ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

(rabbinical ordination) to Rabbi Moshe Shatzkes, known as the

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

Rov, and Rabbi Meir Joshua Rosenberg. Rabbi Shapiro died on the 23rd of the Jewish month of

Adar Adar (Hebrew: , ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 days. ...

in 1921.

References

Family tree

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Refael 1837 births 1921 deaths Belarusian Orthodox rabbis Rosh yeshivas 19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian rabbis Volozhin Yeshiva alumni