Rabbi Chaim Shapiro
Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Torah Ohr, Boca Raton, FL
(Boca Raton, FL) Mar 18, 2014
Rabbi Dr. Chaim Shapiro is currently the rabbi of Congregation Torah Ohr in Boca Raton, FL. He has been serving his community of 350 members for the past ten years. Previously, Rabbi Shapiro held rabbinical positions in Pittsburgh, PA for two years, Queens, New York for fourteen years and Newport, Rhode Island (at the historic Touro Synagogue) for nine years.
Rabbi Shapiro grew up in New Haven, CT and attended Yeshiva College in New York. He received his rabbinic ordination from RIETS in 1956 and went on to receive a Masters in Religious Education from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1990, Rabbi Shapiro received his doctorate from Boston University.
Rabbi Shapiro has been a member of the Rabbinical Council of America for nearly twenty years. He is an auxiliary member of the National Council of Young Israel Rabbis and is a member of the local Orthodox Rabbinical Board in Florida. In his current position, Rabbi Shapiro is involved with the local Jewish Family Services and serves on the Israel Bonds Committee. Rabbi Shapiro runs programs for the RCA Yeshivot in Israel and raises significant funds for the annual Od Yosef Chai campaign.
When reflecting upon some of his accomplishments in his rabbinic career, Rabbi Shapiro is most proud of having taught the first group of Ethiopian olim in a Yeshiva in Be’er Sheva, Israel. Additionally, in 1965 he oversaw the first Rosh Hashanah services in the White House. Through the years he was privileged to meet with and get to know many public figures, including George Bush Sr., the president of Portugal, the King of Spain, and others.
Rabbi Shapiro has always seen the role of a Rabbi as “to be an agent for Above and down below. This double responsibility requires us to serve G-d as well as our people, and they are very much connected.”
Rabbi Shapiro is the author of many publications on topics ranging from Yetziyat Mitzrayim to various Guides to Orthodox Conversion and Kaddish. His articles have been featured in The Jewish Press and Tradition Magazine.
Rabbi Dr. Shapiro and his wife, Sheila, have been selected to be guests of honor at Congregation Torah Ohr’s upcoming 20th anniversary banquet.
