JERUSALEM (VINnews) — BDE: The Torah world mourns the passing of the gaon and tzaddik, Rabbi Aviezer Asher Zelig Shapira, of blessed memory, the spiritual supervisor (mashgiach) of Yeshiva Ketana Kol Torah in Jerusalem. He was 81 at the time of his passing.

In recent months, his condition fluctuated. The mashgiach was hospitalized, later recovering with Heaven’s mercy and returning to the yeshiva. However, in recent days his condition deteriorated again, and in the early morning hours he passed away, to the deep sorrow of his family and thousands of students.

Rabbi Aviezer zt”l was born in Kfar Chassidim on 5 Adar 5704 (1944) to his father, Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Shapira zt”l, and his mother Rachel, of blessed memory. He was a direct descendant of Rabbi Chaim Meir Yechiel Shapira, the Saraf of Moglenice, as well as of the Ruzhin chasidic dynasty through his great-grandmother.

In his youth, he studied at Yeshivat Kol Torah and later continued at the Hebron Yeshiva, where he absorbed the teachings of his rabbis.

Upon reaching marriageable age, he wed the daughter of Rabbi Meir Ephraim Winkler zt”l, who served as rabbi of the Machzikei HaDat community in Copenhagen and later as a lecturer at Yeshivat Torah Ohr in Jerusalem. He was the son of Rabbi Michael Shalom Winkler zt”l, rabbi of Machzikei HaDat in Copenhagen and a member of the Council of Torah Sages in Europe.

In 1970 (5730), Rabbi Shapira was appointed rabbi of the “Or HaChaim” synagogue in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood. The synagogue was established in 1930 by a relative of his family. He also continued the traditions of the Drohobych Hasidic lineage, to which he was connected through his distinguished ancestry.

In 1978 (5738), he was appointed mashgiach of Yeshiva Ketana Kol Torah in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem, where he became a central spiritual figure. Over decades, he guided and shaped thousands of students.

Rabbi Shapira was known as the driving spiritual force of the yeshiva, deeply involved both in student admissions and in maintaining the institution’s spiritual standards. Students held him in great affection, which he warmly reciprocated.

For many years, he maintained the practice of visiting the Western Wall plaza nightly. He was among the founders of the now widely observed custom of reciting “Nishmat Kol Chai” at the Wall at midnight, a practice that became well-known throughout the Jewish world.

Rabbi Shapira also served as chairman of the managing committee of the “Chassidim” Chevra Kadisha in Jerusalem and was active in several charitable organizations.

He is survived by a large and blessed family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Among his sons is Rabbi Menachem Shapira, Deputy Mayor of Bnei Brak, who was especially devoted to him.

May his soul be bound in the bond of life.