Religionיעקב אלעזר כהנא שפירא

Yaakov Elazar Kahana Shapira

Yaakov Shapira is an Israeli rabbi who heads the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem and sits on the Chief Rabbinate Council.

born 1950Heading the Mercaz HaRav yeshivaMembership in the Chief Rabbinate Council2013 Chief Rabbi candidacy

Born: 26 December 1950, Jerusalem
Occupation: rabbi
Education: Yashlatz, Mercaz HaRav Kook

Yaakov Elazar Kahana Shapira was born in 1950 in Jerusalem

Yaakov Elazar Kahana Shapira was born in Jerusalem in 1950. His father, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, later headed Mercaz HaRav and served as Chief Rabbi of Israel. His mother was Penina Perl, and he has a twin brother, Rabbi Shmuel.

He grew up in the Geula neighborhood and studied at Talmud Torah schools in Jerusalem and at a yeshiva high school. He then studied at Mercaz HaRav. He received rabbinic ordination from his father, Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli and others.

In 1983 his father made him a teacher at Mercaz HaRav, and until 1993 he assisted his father at the Chief Rabbinate. After his father died in 2007, he became head of the yeshiva. In 2008 a gunman attacked the yeshiva and killed 8 students.

In 2008 he was elected to the Chief Rabbinate Council, where he chairs its education committee. In 2013 he ran for Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi and lost to Rabbi David Lau. In 2014 he sought the post of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem but withdrew.