Kalonymus Kalman Shapira

Kalonimus Kalman Szapiro (English: Kalonymus Kalman Shapira or Klonimus Kalmish Szapiro) (20 May 1889–3 November 1943), was the Grand Rabbi of Piaseczno, Poland, who authored a number of works and was murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Kalonimus Kalman Szapiro was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland. His father was Elimelech Szapira of the Grodzhisk hasidic dynasty. Named after his maternal great grandfather, known as the Maor VaShemesh, he came from a family which included Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, the Chozeh of Lublin and the Yisroel Hopstein. He was born on the day after Lag BaOmer, 19 Iyar 5649 (May 1889)

His father died when he was three. In 1905 he married Rachel Chaya Miriam, daughter of his nephew Grand Rabbi Yerachmiel Moshe of the Kozhnitz dynasty. They had two children: a son, Elimelech Ben Zion, and a daughter, Rechil Yehudis, both of whom were also murdered in the Holocaust. In 1909 he was appointed rabbi of Piaseczno, near Warsaw, and subsequently attracted many hasidim. He established the yeshiva Da'as Moshe in 1923, which became one of the largest Hasidic yeshivot in Warsaw between the wars.

Rabbi Szapiro's only son, his daughter in law, and his sister in law were killed during the Nazi aerial bombing of Warsaw in September 1939. After the invasion of Poland, Rabbi Shapira was interned with a few of his Hasidim in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he ran a secret synagogue. He invested enormous efforts in maintaining Jewish life in the ghetto, including arranging for mikveh immersions and kosher marriages. Rabbi Shapira was able to survive in the ghetto until its liquidation, avoiding the tragic deportations to Treblinka in the summer of 1942, because of the support of the Judenrat. Like other notables, he was given work at Schultz's shoe factory—a path to ongoing survival. After the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was crushed in 1943, Rabbi Szapiro was taken to the Trawniki work camp near Lublin. Although offered the opportunity to escape from the concentration camp, he apparently refused. Following the Jewish uprising in the Treblinka death camp (August 2, 1943) and in Sobibor extermination camp (October 14, 1943), there was increasing concern among the Nazi authorities that there would be further outbreaks of violence at other concentration camps. For this reason, Aktion Erntefest (Operation Harvest Festival) was launched. During this operation, carried out on November 3, 1943, all the remaining Jews in Trawniki, including Rabbi Szapiro, were shot to death.

Chovas HaTalmidim (The Students' Obligation) a collection of essays aimed at teenagers which has become a standard textbook in yeshivos. It was first published in Warsaw in 1932. Hachshoras HaAvreichim (Preparation of Young Men) a work written for young married men as a sequel to Chovas HaTalmidim. It was published from a manuscript buried in the ghetto. (Jewish Spiritual Growth a translation of Hachshoras HaAvreichim by Yaacov David Shulman)
Mevo haSheorim Both the continuation of Hachshoras HaAvreichim and intended to be the introduction to Chovas HaAvreichim, which was to have been the final book in the series on education and spiritual guidance. Only Mevo HaSheorim survived from this manuscript, buried in the ghetto. According to Daniel Reiser, the manuscript of Chovas HaAvreichim wasn't lost, rather Rabbi Szapiro didn't have a chance to compose it before the Second World War, other than the brief section published in Derech HaMelech. Tzav V'Ziruz Rabbi Szapiro's personal diary, translated into English as To Heal the Soul: The Spiritual Journey of a Chasidic Rebbe. It was also published from a manuscript buried in the ghetto. Bnei Machshava Tova (Experiencing the Divine: A Guide to Jewish Spiritual practice and Community) was originally distributed by Rabbi Szapiro to his closest Hasidim in the early 1920s as a secret handbook for the establishment of secret mystical fraternities. The book is a guide to attaining spirituality via a variety of spiritual and mystical techniques including guided imagery meditation in a group setting. Translated by Yaacov David Shulman. Derech HaMelech (The Way of the King also, idiomatically, "the high road" in modern Hebrew) Torah discourses that were spoken on Shabbos and Yom Tov during the 1920s and 1930s. The text is based upon copies of the sermons made by Rabbi Szapiro's followers. It also includes letters, documents and other writings such as the only surviving chapters from his projected work Chovas HaAvreichim and his commentary on the Zohar. It also includes a description of his original "hashkata" (mind quieting) meditation technique. Aish Kodesh (Holy Fire) his inspirational speeches given during the Holocaust period. (A Critical and Annotated Edition of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira's Sermons during the Holocaust 2 Vol. 630 pp.)

The current Rebbe of Piaseczno is Rabbi Kalman Menachem Shapira, a great nephew of the first Rebbe, Klonimous Kalman. Rabbi Kalman Menachem resides in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel and leads Congregation Aish Kodesh, which is both a synagogue and the worldwide headquarters for spreading the teachings of his great uncle. Study halls named Aish Kodesh are also located in Moshav Mevo Modi'im, Beitar Illit and in Bnei Brak. There is a yeshiva in Baka, Jerusalem called Yeshivat Chovat Hatalmidim, where students under the helm of Rabbi Yair HaLevi learn the legendary teachings of The Piaseczna Rabbi. There is also a yeshiva called Aish Kodesh in Virginia. named Aish Kodesh. It was led by Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder for ten years between 2003 and 2013. There is a recently founded synagogue in Manchester England named Aish Kodesh.

In 2010, the first synagogue in Post holocaust Europe was opened under the name Adass Aish Kodesh and is led by Rabbi Y. Reuven Rubin , formerly of South Manchester Synagogue.