Rav Chaim Meir Yechiel Shapiro zt"l
הרב חיים מאיר יחיאל שפירא זצ"ל
Tammuz 18 , 5767
Known As: Naroler Rebbe
Rav Chaim Meir Yechiel Shapiro zt"l
Rav Chaim Meir Yechiel Shapiro (Naroler Rebbe) (1907-2007). He was a grandson of the Rav of Narol, and a descendant of the Sar Sholom, the first Belzer Rav. When he was a young child, his family fled to Kashuai in Hungary, where his grandfather re-established his court. The family returned to Narol in 1924.
After his grandfather’s petirah, in a decision made by Gedolei Yisrael, Rav Chaim Meir was appointed Rav and Dayan in Narol despite his young age. He received heter horaah from the Beis Din in Lvov, and became a posek for Belzer chassidim. After the Nazi invasion in 1939, he fled with his family to Taprov, where his father-in-law lived, and stayed until the summer. In June, all Jews who didn’t have passports were seized by police and shipped to Siberia. The Naroler Rav’s family managed to leave Siberia and reach Samarkand where survival was easier. In 1945, the Rav was permitted to leave Russia and go to the west. In 1946, he arrived in Antwerp, and began to give shiurim to the Belzer chassidim who had arrived there. He was active among the refugees here too, helping marry off orphans and setting up their homes.
In 1948, the Naroler Rav moved to Brooklyn. A Belzer beis medrash was founded, and the Naroler Rav was appointed at its head. He gave many shiurim among them, a shiur on Minchas Chinuch which he consistently gave for over 70 years. On Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 1972, the Naroler Rebbe left America and settled in Bnei Brak, where he founded the Naroler beis medrash. The Rebbe leaves behind his son Rav Berish, Rav of Narol.