Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piaseczno רבי קלונימוס קלמיש שפירא מפיאסצ'נה
Rebbe of Piaseczno; the Warsaw ghetto sermons—Esh Kodesh
He became rabbi of Piaseczno in 5669, while still young, and before the war was known not for sermons but for books on education: Chovat HaTalmidim (Warsaw, 5692)—on how to teach an adolescent without breaking him—and Hachsharat HaAvreichim, for young married men. That is a rarity: a Chassidic rebbe who wrote about pedagogy seriously and in detail.
The ghetto. From 5700 to 5702 he spoke before his students in the Warsaw ghetto almost every Sabbath—on the weekly portion, with what was happening all around. He handed the writings to the Ringelblum Archive; they were buried in a large milk canister together with the other papers. After the war a builder found the canister. The book appeared in Israel in 5720 under the title Esh Kodesh—"Holy Fire."
He did not leave, though he could have. He was killed on 3 November 1943 at Trawniki, in the destruction of the last labour camps of the Lublin district.
On the count of years. He was killed in November 1943, and by then the Hebrew year had turned: it was already 5704. Hence diedAm 5704 here against 1943 by the common count.
On the timeline
Places
Related
Sources
Acharonim and later rabbinic literature
- Esh Kodesh — the Warsaw ghetto sermons of 5700–5702, published in Israel in 5720
- Chovat HaTalmidim, Warsaw 5692 — the book on education published in his lifetime
Basis: documents and evidence.