Editing Meir Shapiro

{{Short description|Polish Hasidic rabbi and rosh yeshiva}}
{{similar names|Meyer Shapiro (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix = Rabbi
| name             = Meir Shapiro
| honorific-suffix = 
| title            = 
| image            = Yehuda Meir Shapiro 1933.jpg
| caption          = 
| synagogue        = 
| synagogueposition = 
| yeshiva          = [[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva]]
| yeshivaposition  = [[Rosh yeshiva]]
| organisation     = 
| organisationposition = 
| began            = 1930
| ended            = 1933
| predecessor      = 
| successor        = 
| rabbi            = 
| rebbe            = 
| kohan            = 
| hazzan           = 
| rank             = 
| other_post       = Rabbi of Galina, [[Sanok]], and Pietrokov
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name       = Yehuda Meir Shapiro
| birth_date       = 3 March 1887
| birth_place      = [[Suceava|Shatz]], [[Austria-Hungary]] present day [[Romania]]<ref name="yair">{{cite web |url=http://www.vosizneias.com/40348/2009/10/25/new-york-the-76th-yahrzeit-of-rav-meir-shapiro-zatzal-founder-of-the-daf-yomi/ |title=New York - The 76th Yahrzeit Of Rav Meir Shapiro zatzal Founder of The Daf Yomi |date=25 October 2009 |accessdate=10 June 2012 |first=Yair |last=Hoffman |publisher=[[Vosizneias]]}}</ref>
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1933|10|27|1887|03|03|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Lublin]], [[Poland]]
| buried           = Lublin, Poland; later reinterred in [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]]
| nationality      = [[Poland|Polish]]
| denomination     = [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]]
| residence        = 
| dynasty          = 
| parents          = Yaakov Shimshon of Shatz<br />Rebbetzin Margulya
| spouse           = Malka Toba Shapiro
| children         = 
| occupation       = Rabbi, [[rosh yeshiva]]
| profession       = 
| alma_mater       = 
| semicha          = 
| signature        = 
}}

'''Yehuda Meir Shapiro''' ({{langx|pl|Majer Jehuda Szapira}}; 3 March 1887 &ndash; 27 October 1933) was a prominent [[Polish Jews|Polish]] [[Hasidic]] [[rabbi]] and [[rosh yeshiva]], also known as the [[Lublin]]er [[Rav]]. He is noted for his promotion of the [[Daf Yomi]] study program in 1923, and establishing the [[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva]] in 1930.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Safier |first=Dovi |date=2023-09-26 |title=A Light from Lublin: Rav Meir Shapiro's Quest to Build Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin - Mishpacha Magazine |url=https://mishpacha.com/a-light-from-lublin-rav-meir-shapiros-quest-to-build-yeshivas-chachmei-lublin/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |language=en-US}}</ref>

During the years 1922 to 1927 Shapiro was the first [[Orthodox Jew]] to become a member in the [[Sejm]] (Parliament) of the [[Second Polish Republic]] representing the Jewish minority of the country.

==Biography==
===Early years===
[[Image:Rabbi Israel Friedman of Chortkov.gif|thumb|100px|Shapiro's mentor, the Rebbe of [[Chortkov (Hasidic dynasty)|Chortkov]]]]

Rabbi Yehuda Meir Shapiro was born on the 7th day of [[Adar]] (in Jewish tradition, also the birth date of [[Moses]]<ref name="yair"/>) in the city of [[Suceava|Shatz]], [[Bucovina]], then in the [[Austrian-Hungarian Empire]], now in [[Romania]], in 1887.<ref name="yair"/> He was a descendant of Rabbi [[Pinchas Shapiro of Koretz|Pinchas Shapiro]] of [[Korets]], one of the students of the [[Baal Shem Tov]], and from his maternal side, of Rabbi [[Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor]], a French [[Tosafot|tosafist]].<ref name="chinuch"/> After [[cheder]], Shapiro began to study with his grandfather, the Baal Minchas Shai (Rabbi {{Interlanguage link multi|Shmuel Yitzchak Schor{{!}}Shmuel Yitzhak Schor|he|שמואל_יצחק_שור}}. Another of his early teachers was Rabbi [[Shulem Moshkovitz]] (popularly known as the Shotzer Rebbe. He was also a well known kabbalist).

In 1906 he "married the daughter of Reb Ya'akov Breitman, a wealthy landowner of Tarnopol, Galicia."<ref>{{cite news
   |newspaper=[[The Jewish Press]]
   |title=A Blaze in the Darkening Gloom: The Life of Rav Meir Shapiro
   |author=Tovia Preschel  |date=January 27, 1995 |page=74}}</ref> Shapiro began to get a reputation, and became known as the [[Illui]] of Shatz. From an early age, he was known as an outstanding leader and gifted speaker. He was soon ordained by many great scholars, including the [[Sholom Mordechai Schwadron|Maharsham]]. His grandfather introduced him to the [[Chortkov (Hasidic dynasty)|Chortkov]]er [[Rebbe]], and thus began his passion for [[Hasidic philosophy|Hasidism]], and the beginning of his relationship with the Chortkover Rebbe.

===Galina===
His first rabbinical posting came in 1911<ref name="chinuch"/> when he was appointed Rav of [[Hlyniany|Galina]]. He spent ten years in the city, during which time he established a [[yeshiva]] called Bnei Torah. Construction commenced in 1920. The yeshiva held a [[Talmud Torah]], a place to train rabbis, and a kitchen to feed orphaned children. It ran at a budget of over half a million marks. This yeshiva served as a prototype for what was later to become [[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva|Chachmei Lublin]].

===Sanok===
After leaving Galina, Shapiro began serving as Rav of [[Sanok]] in 1920.

===Petrakov===
In 1924, Shapiro accepted his third rabbinical position in Petrakov/Piotrkow.

===Lublin===
On 14 June 1931, he was appointed rabbi of Lublin in the old [[Maharshal's Synagogue|synagogue]] of the [[Maharshal]].

==Daf Yomi==
{{main|Daf Yomi}}
Shapiro introduced the revolutionary idea of [[Daf Yomi]] ({{langx|he|דף יומי}}, "page [of the] day" or "daily [[wikt:folio|folio]]"), a daily regimen undertaken to study the Babylonian Talmud one folio (a daf consists of both sides of the page) each day. Under this regimen, the entire Talmud is completed, one day at a time, in a cycle of seven and a half years. Rabbi Shapiro introduced his idea at the First World Congress of the [[World Agudath Israel]] in [[Vienna]] on 16 August 1923.<ref name="daf1">Shlomi, B. "A Brilliant Idea: Daf Yomi". ''[[Hamodia]]'' Magazine, 3 May 2012, pp. 18&ndash;20.</ref> The first cycle of Daf Yomi commenced on the first day of [[Rosh Hashanah]] 5684 (11 September 1923).<ref name="daf1"/> Now in its 14th cycle,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ou.org/torah/article/ou_torah_ready_with_many_online_resources_as_new_daf_yomi_cycle_approaches_#.UjjlH8akqWM|title=OU Torah Ready with Many Online Resources As New Daf Yomi Cycle Approaches 8/3|year=2012|publisher=[[Orthodox Union]]|accessdate=21 September 2013}}</ref> Daf Yomi has been taken up by tens of thousands of Jews worldwide. Incidentally, there are 2,711 pages in the Babylonian Talmud.

==Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin==
{{main|Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva}}
[[Image:Jeszywas Chachmei w Lublinie.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva]].]]
Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin was, along with Daf Yomi, Shapiro's greatest achievement. He conceived of a yeshiva for Hasidic Poland, modeled on Lithuanian yeshivas such as [[Volozhin yeshiva|Volozhin]], [[Hebron Yeshiva|Slabodka]] and [[Novardok yeshiva|Novardok]], but which would train Hasidic rabbis as the next generation to lead Polish Jewry. The Yeshiva was housed in a massive building, housed hundreds of students, and had a vast library of over 100,000 books.

On 22–28 May 1924, the cornerstone laying ceremony took place for the construction of the yeshiva building. Approximately 20,000 people participated in the event. The opening ceremony took place on 24–25 June 1930. Apart from thousands of local Jews, around 10,000 people arrived from all over Poland and abroad.
Shapiro served as [[rosh yeshiva]] until his death.

==Łódź==
In 1932 Shapiro was approached by leaders of the Jewish Community of [[Łódź]], who wanted to offer him the position of [[Chief Rabbi]] of Łódź. Many people wanted to appoint Rabbi Mendel Alter of Kalish, (b. 1877, [[Góra Kalwaria|Ger]]) the brother to the [[Gerrer Rebbe]] (and youngest son of the [[Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter|Sfas Emes]]) to this position. Rabbi Shapiro negotiated that a large part of his wage would go to pay off the debts that [[Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva|Chachmei Lublin]] was still struggling to pay off. Eventually it was decided to give it to Rabbi Shapiro. After all the protracted negotiation that went on to get Rabbi Shapiro into this position, he died three days after being appointed Chief Rabbi.

==Political activities==
===Agudat Yisrael===
Whilst serving in Galina, Rabbi Shapiro began his involvement with [[World Agudath Israel|Agudat Israel]]. He was present at its founding conference in 1912. In 1914 he was appointed head of the Education Department of Agudas Yisrael in East [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]], becoming president in 1922 of Agudas Yisrael in [[Poland]]. He played a role in the conference in the city of Lvov, which had the purpose of launching the Aguda in Galicia, some two years after its founding in Katovitz in 5672 (c. 1911).

At the time, he was also added as a member to the [[Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah]]. Rabbi Shapiro was initially very doubtful as to whether he should become an MP for the party, but was encouraged to do so by his [[rebbe]], the [[Chortkov (Hasidic dynasty)|Chortkov]]er.

Rabbi Shapiro, together with Aron Levine and Zalman Sorotzkin, chaired the committee which as a part of the Polish Ministry for Religious Affairs, held responsibility for delegating Rabbinical positions throughout Poland. He was also part of the Vaad HaChinuch.

Beginning in 1922, Rabbi Shapiro served as a parliamentarian to the Polish [[Sejm]]. In 1928 he stepped down as a politician so that he could devote all his energies to Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva.

==Death==
Shapiro became ill with [[typhus]] in 1933 and died within the month, on 27 October 1933 (7 [[Cheshvan]] 5694)<ref name="chinuch">{{cite web |url=http://chinuch.org/Cheshvan.php |title=Gedolim Yahrtzeits: 7 Cheshvan |first=Manny |last=Saltiel |publisher=chinuch.org |year=2012 |accessdate=10 June 2012}}</ref> at the age of 46. His death was mourned in both Jewish and non-Jewish Poland. Countless newspapers across the entire political spectrum, from Orthodox to [[Yiddishkeit|Yiddishist]] to [[socialist]], featured front-page biographies of Rabbi Shapiro.

Shapiro's remains were reinterred in Israel in 1958, under the auspices of his brother. He was reburied in [[Har HaMenuchot]] with a full ceremony. Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Levin delivered a eulogy, as did those students of his who had survived the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]].

==Legacy==
Shapiro is widely revered throughout the Jewish world as the founder of Daf Yomi. The neighborhood of Zikhron Meir in [[Bnei Brak]] was established in his memory by Yaakov Halperin; this is the neighborhood that hosts many of the major yeshivas in Bnei Brak.<br>

[[Shlomo Artzi]], a famous Israeli musical artist, is Shapiro's grand-nephew.{{cn|date=June 2016}}
Famous students of Rav Shapiro who continued his legacy, include Rabbi [[Pinchas Hirschprung]][[Pinhas Hirschprung| ]] and [[Shmuel Wosner| Rabbi Shmuel Wosner]].

==Works==
Shapiro was considered a [[Gaon (Hebrew)|gaon]] (Torah genius) in his lifetime. He studied Torah extensively and was a great scholar even by the high standards of the era he lived in. His two major works are ''Ohr HaMeir'' and ''Imrei Da'as''.

*'''''Ohr HaMeir''''' - It was in Petrakov that he printed his book of [[responsa]] entitled ''Ohr HaMeir'' in 1926. As a work it operates on many different subjects, from [[philosophy]] to [[halacha]].
*'''''Imrei Daas''''' - a compilation of [[Torah]] thoughts on [[Halacha]] and [[Aggada]], which was lost during World War II. The book contained an approbation from Rabbi [[Meir Arik]] of Meturnah.
*'''''Vortelach''''' - Shapiro was a quick and brilliant thinker, and his numerous ''vortelach'' (short responsa) have been collected in numerous volumes, and quoted in many books.

==See also==
* [[History of Jews in Poland]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.feldheim.com/a-blaze-in-the-darkening-gloom-the-life-of-rav-meir-shapiro.html Biography of Meir Shapiro by Feldheim Publishers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406121912/http://www.feldheim.com/a-blaze-in-the-darkening-gloom-the-life-of-rav-meir-shapiro.html |date=2017-04-06 }}
* [http://torahdownloads.com/shiur-12262.html Audio biography of Rabbi Meir Shapiro]
* [https://vimeo.com/379570654 Only with Joy - A documentary about the life of Rabbi Meir Shapiro produced by Menachem Daum and David Lenik]

{{Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Meir}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1923 in Judaism]]
[[Category:1933 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Polish rabbis]]
[[Category:Hasidic rosh yeshivas]]
[[Category:Polish Hasidic rabbis]]
[[Category:Bukovina Jews]]
[[Category:Jews from Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:Romanian Jews]]
[[Category:Polish people of Romanian descent]]
[[Category:People from Suceava]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in Poland]]
[[Category:Deaths from typhus]]
[[Category:Burials at Har HaMenuchot]]