Shmuel Shapiro (, born 26 January 1974) is a French Jewish

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 ...

Cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

, singer, composer, and. lecturer. He formerly served as the Chief Rabbi of

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a '' département'' in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, ...

and Nancy, France.

Biography

His mother, Elisheva, is a musician and a lecturer in Judaism, and his father, David-Nathan, served as the rabbi of

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

and

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

. The family immigrated to Israel when he was nine years old. He studied at the Ohel Shimon Erloy yeshivot in Jerusalem where he placed second in a Talmudic competition at the age of twelve. He began composing music at the age of eleven, and by the time he was seventeen he was the principal cantorial singer in the Erlau Hasidic community. After completing his studies in psychology and Jewish philosophy, he taught Judaism at the French-speaking Or Gabriel yeshiva in

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 ...

. In 1994, he studied in a

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 ...

institute and taught in remedial education at the Tsafnat Panea'h school in Jerusalem. He studied chazanut at Hechal Shlomo school in Jerusalem under the direction of his teachers Eli Jaffe and Benjamin Munk. He also developed his voice with cantors Moshe Deriginski Avraham Pressman, the opera singer Gee Flashter and the maestro Daniel Gildar in Jerusalem, New York City, and Paris. In 1998, he was sent to France by Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman for an educational mission at the Ozar Hatorah school in

Sarcelles Sarcelles () is a Communes of France, commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero#France, centre of Paris. Sarcelles is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of Franc ...

and with the local Jewish community. In 2001, Shmuel Shapiro gave lectures on Judaism, music, and voice for the radio station Kol Haneshama, broadcast in Israel and the United States. He served as cantor of Grossman's

Migdal HaEmek Migdal HaEmek (, lit. ''Tower of the Valley'', also officially spelled Migdal HaEmeq, ) is a city in the Northern District of Israel. In it had a population of . Migdal HaEmek was established in 1953 as a ma'abara for Jews from Arab countr ...

synagogue in Israel. In 2005, he was an educational advisor for the Chneor institutions in

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis departments of France, department, Île-de-France regions of France, region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. Geography Localisation Aubervilliers is one of th ...

. From 2006 to 2020, he lectured and served as the hazzan at the synagogue of the rue de Montevideo in the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (; ) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the ...

. He is a highly educated individual who gives courses, lectures and advice on a variety of subjects to the community. He was the rabbi of Nancy and its region until November 2020. His debut album, ''Seu Marom'', was recorded in 2013 in France and Israel with arrangements by Didier Atlan. He composed the majority of the songs. In 2022, he moved to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and currently serves as rabbi and cantor in the Jewish community of Monaco. alongside Rabbi Daniel Torgmant.. He is married and has Three children and four grandchildren.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

* 2013: ''Seu Marom (Of languages:

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, French, English,

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

and Holy Tongue)

Singles

* 2000: Ko Amar * 2003: Écoutez la Torah * 2004: Ahavat Israel * 2011: The Key * 2012: Se'u Marom * 2015: Ahavat Israel II * 2016: Dos Yiddishe Lied

Collaborations

* 2002: Kel Mistater (Album: ''Otzrot Shabat 2'', David Honig) * 2005: Nitzotzot * 2022: Banim Lebaneicha (Album: ''Psalm songs'', The Goldin Project)

Music Videos

* 2011: The Key (for

Gilad Shalit Gilad Shalit (, ''Gilˁad Šaliṭ'' ; born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who, on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Ham ...

) * 2013: Se'u Marom * 2015: Ahavat Israel II

References

Fnac Fnac () is a French multinational retail chain specializing in the sale of entertainment Media (communication), media and consumer electronics. Fnac was founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its headquarters is located in ''Le Flavia' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Shmuel 1974 births Living people French Orthodox Jews 20th-century French male singers Jewish singers Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim Jewish songwriters Hasidic entertainers Yiddish-language singers of France Hasidic singers French child singers 21st-century French male singers Orthodox pop musicians