A “Rabbi Shapiro” in Brooklyn newspapers, 1925-1938
Printed mentions of a Rabbi Shapiro tied to the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or to Brooklyn rabbinic events. None prints the full name Moshe Shmuel. Each entry gives the printed words and says what remains unproven. Where the page number says “as cited”, it comes from the source listing and was not read from the page header.
These are research finds, not statements about Moshe Shmuel’s life. The role of principal fits what the family records say of him (see Principal of Chaim Berlin).
Times Union (Brooklyn), 17 October 1926, page 5 (page as cited): “Will Lay Yeshiva Cornerstone Today”
The article is about the new Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin at 1782 Park Place, Brownsville. Among the speakers it prints: “Rabbi S. J. Finkelstein, of Congregation Ohav Sholom; Rabbi Meyer Shapiro, of Pieterkov”.
What is not shown: The congregation Ohav Sholom belongs to Rabbi Finkelstein in the printed list, not to Shapiro. The article does not connect “Rabbi Meyer Shapiro, of Pieterkov” to the Brooklyn school’s principal or to Moshe Shmuel Shapiro. He may be a different rabbi, or the name may be garbled.
Brooklyn Daily Times, 21 May 1928, page 10 (as printed in the page header): “Chaim Berlin H. S. Cornerstone Laid”
The cornerstone of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin H. S. “was laid yesterday afternoon at 1782 Park pl.” It prints: “Rabbi Meyer Shapiro was the auctioneer, assisted by David Ferliff as secretary and treasurer” and, in the last line, “Rabbi Meyer Shapiro is principal of the school.”
What is not shown: The paper prints “Meyer”, not Moshe Shmuel. It may be a reporter’s mix-up, or a different person. The role (principal of the Chaim Berlin school) matches what the family records say of Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, but the article does not name him in full, so this is an inference.
Article, as printedFull page; its header reads page 10
Times Union (Brooklyn), 21 May 1928, page 6 (page as cited): the same cornerstone ceremony
The article on the ceremony prints: “…the cornerstone ceremonies held on the site of the new Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin High School, 1782 Park place.” It gives the school’s present location as 1899 Prospect place.
What is not shown: The crop names no Shapiro. It is listed only to show the 1782 Park place address, which also appears in the Brooklyn Daily Times report above. The date header is not in the crop, so the date and page are as cited.
Times Union report, as printed
Times Union (Brooklyn), 9 February 1936, page 5 (page as cited): “Rabbi Berlin Yeshiva Alumni Dine Tonight”
The article describes the first annual reunion dinner of the Alumni Association of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin. Among guests at the dais it prints: “Isidor K. Zwickel, principal of the English department of the Yeshiva; Rabbi Shapiro, head of the Hebrew department; Rabbi Aaron Einhorn, executive director of the institution”.
What is not shown: No first name or initial is printed. It may be Moshe Shmuel Shapiro by role only.
Brooklyn Eagle, 18 November 1938, page 31 (page as cited): dinner committee
It prints: “Among those on the honorary committee of the dinner are … Rabbi S. M. Shapiro …”. The crop does not show which organization held the dinner.
What is not shown: Only the initials are printed, and the organization is not visible. The name may be his, but this is not shown.
Brooklyn Eagle, 13 January 1925, page 1 (page as cited): a namesake
A short item reports on a girl of 16, a pupil at P.S. 163, “daughter of Rabbi Moses Shapiro of 152”. The rest of the address is cut off in the saved crop, and the girl’s name is not visible.
What is not shown: This is a Rabbi Moses Shapiro in Brooklyn in January 1925. Nothing printed ties him to the Chaim Berlin rabbi, and nothing says he is a different man. A plain “Rabbi Moses Shapiro” in a Brooklyn paper of these years is therefore not automatically Moshe Shmuel Shapiro. The item is listed as a warning about namesakes and is not used for any biography.
Brooklyn Daily Times, 28 June 1929, page 11 (page as cited): “Yeshiva R. C. Berlin Has Record Class”
The article describes the graduation exercises of the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, of 1899 Prospect pl., held at Tifereth Hagre Talmud Torah, 425 Howard ave. It prints: “Mr. Schussheim introduced Rabbi M. S. Shapiro, principal of the Hebrew department of the Yesihvath, who emphasized the important part the Yesihvath plays in the life of American Jewry.” (The paper prints “Yesihvath”.)
What is not shown: The date and page header are not in the crop, so the date and page are as cited. Only the initials M. S. are printed, not Moshe Shmuel. The title matches the role of “Rabbi Shapiro, head of the Hebrew department” in the 1936 item, but the paper does not say it is the same man. The graduate list includes a “Joshua Shapiro”; no relationship is printed.
Headline and opening, as printedRest of the article and the graduate list, as printed
Other newspaper finds, not about Rabbi Shapiro: Rav Avraham Abba HaKohen Zak
The two entries below print the name of a rav Avraham Abba HaKohen Zak. They are research finds, kept apart from the Rabbi Shapiro entries above. Dates and pages come from the archive caption only and were not read from the printed page.
HaYom, 5 September 1887 (date as captioned): a letter datelined Shavel (Kovno district), about the Luknik fire
The letter is datelined “שאוועל, (פלך קאוונא)”. It begins on the fire in Luknik and adds that more than a hundred buildings burned and a hundred and seventy-five families could not be saved. It then names “הרב ר׳ אברהם אבא הכהן זאק נ״י”, who, on the Sabbath of parashat Ekev, gave a sermon “בבית המדרש הגדול בעירנו” (in the great study hall in our city), moving the hearts of all the factions to pity the people burned out in Luknik.
What is not shown: The dateline names Shavel as the place of writing. The letter does not say where this rav lived or was born. Nothing here links him to the place name Savel/Sovel in the Berman records. The year, page and paper are the caption’s and were not read from the page. The crop ends in mid-sentence. The reading of one word after the dash (“אפריין נמטי”) is unsettled.
Letter datelined Shavel, as printed
HaNe’eman, 1929 (year as captioned): a greeting to a grandson on his engagement
One notice in a column of greetings reads: “ברכת מז״ט לחביבי נכדי היקר הרב מר בנדט שיחי׳” and names “שמאל יעקב רבינוביץ שליט״א”. It continues with the engagement to “העלמה המהוללה מרת מלכה שתחי׳ בהרב הגאון מהו״ר מאיר צבי קלף שליט״א”, the rabbi of a town whose name is not fully legible in the crop. It is signed “ברכת זקנך אברהם אבא הכהן זק׳ ומשפחתו, רב אלסיאדי” (“the blessing of your grandfather Avraham Abba HaKohen Zak and his family, rav of Alsiad”).
What is not shown: The word before the name Rabinowitz is not settled (חתני or חותני, “my son-in-law” or “my father-in-law”), so the crop does not say how Rabinowitz is related to the grandson. This notice does not change the 1912 Oholei Shem reading on the person pages, and no relationship is stated here. The greetings above and below it in the column are separate notices (to Mina Rabinowitz and Rav Yaakov Landau, and to Rav Meir Kaplan) and are not part of this entry. The month, page and paper are the caption’s and were not read from the page.
