Moshe Shmuel Shapira

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Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapira (1914 – April 25, 2006) was the rosh yeshiva of the Be'er Yaakov Yeshiva for sixty years from its inception, a member of the Council of Torah Sages of Degel HaTorah and the president of the Vaad Hayeshivos (Yeshiva Council). He was born in Minsk to Rabbi Arieh Shapira, the rabbi of Bialystok, at the beginning of World War I when his family was forced to migrate from their hometown. Rabbi Moshe's grandfather was Rabbi Refael Shapiro, who served as rosh yeshiva of the Volozhin yeshiva.

Shapira studied at a young age in a yeshiva in Baranowitz, and a close relationship developed with Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, the rosh yeshiva. After studying in Baranowitz, Shapira went to learn in the Mir yeshiva. When he got to the draft age, he left the country. He immigrated to Israel and studied in the Lomza yeshiva in Petach Tikva. He received semicha on all four parts of the Shulchan Aruch from Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. Rabbi Moshe befriended the Chazon Ish and became his chavruta (study partner) for at least three months. The Chazon Ish founded the Be'er Yaakov Yeshiva and appointed Rabbi Moshe to lead it.

His shiurim are collected in his ten-volume magnum opus, Kuntris HaBiurim, as well as more cursory notes on gemara in his Sha'arei Sh'muos. He is known for his terse, difficult style and often extreme novelty of approach. He was outstanding among roshei yeshiva of this generation in his broad knowledge of gaonic literature and his penetrating diyukim (textual inferences) in rishonim. He also published annotated versions of the Tosfos HaRosh on various masechtos as well as Chiddushei HaRi Migash and a sefer on chumash, named after his acronym, Zahav M'shva.

He was buried not far from the grave of the Chazon Ish in the Ponevitch cemetery in Bnei Brak.