Yaakov Eliezer Kahana Shapira ( he, יעקב אלעזר כהנא שפירא, born 26 December 1950) is the rosh yeshiva of the

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 A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

in Jerusalem and a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council.

Biography

Shapiro was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

to Rabbi

Avraham Shapira Avraham Shapira ( he, אברהם אלקנה כהנא שפירא; 20 May 1914, Jerusalem – 27 September 2007) was a prominent rabbi in the Religious Zionist world. Shapira had been the head of the Rabbinical court of Jerusalem, and both a ...

, the previous Rosh Yeshiva of Mercaz HaRav, and his wife, Penina Perl. He studied in the Yashlatz yeshiva high school, and then at Yeshivat

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 ...

. He was ordained by his father and Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli.

Rabbinic career

In 1983, his father appointed him as a lecturer in Mercaz Harav, and until 1993, he served as his father's right-hand man in the Chief Rabbinate. After his father's death in 2007, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira was appointed Rosh Yeshiva, in accordance with his father's will. In 2008, during his first year as Rosh Yeshiva, an Arab from

Jabel Mukaber Jabel Mukaber ( ar, جبل مكبر, he, ג'בל מוכאבר) is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in southern East Jerusalem. It is bordered by East Talpiot to the west, Abu Tor and Silwan to the north and Sur Baher to the south. Jabe ...

in East Jerusalem entered the yeshiva with a gun and began firing indiscriminately, killing eight students and wounding 15 others. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, Rabbi Shapira competed for the position of 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 ...

, but lost to Rabbi

David Lau David Baruch Lau ( he, דוד לאו; born 13 January 1966) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. He was appointed after achieving a majority of the vote on 24 July 2013. He previously served as the Chief Rabbi of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Isra ...

. In October 2014, he submitted his candidacy for the position of

Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem The position of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem was instituted centuries ago and was originally held by a member of the Sephardic community. Moses Galante served as Rishon LeZion, the title used from beginning of the 17th century to refer to the chief ...

, but withdrew from the race on election day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapira, Yaakov 1950 births Living people Religious Zionist rosh yeshivas Mercaz HaRav alumni Rabbis in Jerusalem