Rabbi Refael Shapiro was the famed Rosh Yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...

 of the Volozhin yeshiva

Volozhin yeshiva

The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as Etz Chaim Yeshiva, was a prestigious Lithuanian yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin, Russia, . It was founded by Rabbi Chaim Itzkovitz, a student of the famed Vilna Gaon, and trained several generations of scholars, rabbis, and leaders...

 and a son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin

Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin

Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, , also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, dean of the Volozhin Yeshiva and author of several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania.- Family :Berlin was born in Mir, Russia in 1816 into a family of Jewish...

 (the Netziv). 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 Soloveitchik

Chaim Soloveitchik

Chaim Soloveitchik , also known as Reb Chaim Brisker, was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker approach to Talmudic study within Judaism. He was born in Volozhin in 1853, where his father, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik served as a lecturer in the famous...

 of Brisk

Brisk

Brisk may refer to:* Brest, Belarus Brisk is the city's name in Yiddish* Brisk tradition and Soloveitchik dynasty, a school of Jewish thought originated by the Soloveitchik family of Brest...

 and is known as the Toras Refael after his primary work.

Rabbi Shapiro ordained Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman

Isser Yehuda Unterman

Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1964 until 1972.Born in Brest-Litovsk in modern Belarus, Unterman was educated at the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Maltsch. There, he became a pupil of its Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shimon Shkop...

 (who would eventually become one of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

's chief rabbi

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...

s) who studied in the Kollel

Kollel

A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...

 of the Volozhin yeshiva before opening his own yeshiva in the neighboring town of Vishova. Additionally, Rabbi Shapiro gave Semicha

Semicha

, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...

 (rabbinical ordination) to Rabbi Moshe Shatzkes

Moshe Shatzkes

Moshe Shatzkes was a renowned rabbi, Talmudic scholar and noted genius, commonly known as the "Lomzshe/Łomża Rov". He was one of the pre-eminent Roshei Yeshiva and one of the greatest rabbis in all of Poland...

, known as the Łomża Rov, and Rabbi Meir Joshua Rosenberg.

Rabbi Shapiro died on the 23rd of the Jewish month of Adar

Adar

Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days...

in 1921.

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