SHAPIRO, RAMI

SHAPIRO, RAMI (1951– ), U.S. rabbi. Shapiro was born in 1951 in Springfield, Mass. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, a master's degree in religious studies from McMaster University, and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1981. He received a Ph.D. in contemporary Judaism from Union Institute in Cincinnati, and took advanced training in counseling. Shapiro served as rabbi of Temple Beth Or in Miami from 1981 to 2000, a congregation that affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. During this time he led the congregation to explore new and participatory forms of Judaism and spiritual growth, transforming conventional American synagogue patterns. He developed creative interpretations of liturgy, encouraged adult study and daily spiritual practice, and initiated an ethics and spiritual curriculum for teenagers called "What Would a Mentsch Do?" Rabbi Shapiro took an active role in the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and Ohalah, the Jewish Renewal rabbinic network, as well as the Reform movement. From 2000 to 2002 he was rabbi of the Metivta Center for Contemplative Judaism in Los Angeles. From 1994 to 2004 he directed an Internet site for Jewish study and spiritual growth, Virtual Yeshiva (later called SimplyJewish.com.). From 2002 he headed the One River Foundation, an interfaith institute sharing the spiritual insights of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other religions, and continued to write and to teach widely. Shapiro developed guides to death and mourning for non-Orthodox Jews. His creative translations of liturgy were used in many congregations. Shapiro developed an extensive approach to Jewish ritual and spiritual life, challenging liberal Jews to do more. His book Minyan (1997) was built around the theme of ten key principles of Jewish life, derived from but not always identical with areas of tradition. He advocated ethical consumption (based on kashrut), balancing work and play (Shabbat), and daily acts of kindness (gemilut ḥasadim) as well as urging daily spiritual practices such as silence and chanting God's names. Among his writings are creative reinterpretations of a number of classic Jewish texts, including selections from the Bible, Pirkei Avot, and ḥasidic tales. He wrote Wisdom of the Jewish Sages: A Modern Reading of Pirke Avot (1993); Minyan: Ten Principles For Living a Life of Integrity (1997); The Way of Solomon: Finding Joy and Contentment in the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes (2000); Proverbs: The Wisdom of Solomon (2001); Hasidic Tales: Annotated and Explained (2003); The Prophets: Annotated and Explained (2004). (Robert Tabak (2nd ed.)