Gaon Jechiel Michel Spira (Shapira) - הגאון יחיאל מיכל שפירא
Born: c1530, Posen (Poznań) Poland - Died: January 24, 1598, Prague,
>>*[Rabbi Shimshon Spira, [of Posen] '''Shimshon Spira of Posen] Current husband
>>*[Joseph Jerusalem Yoseph '''Yerishalmi Sapiro] Alternate husband possibility
Urgently seeking information and documentation regarding Jehiel Michal's direct ancestry,
as some important sources dispute Shimshon being the father of Jehiel Michal,
but rather strongly indicate that Yosef Yerushalmi Spira is his father. Is anyone able to
provide definitive proof either way?
All the information we have compiled so far:
'''SOURCE NOTES:
1. Kalman Yerushalmi Spira (bef 1504 - ) father of Yosef Yerushalmi Spira ( bef 1522 - ) father of Yechiel see below for ref. document and Lawrence Weinberg's notes.
[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prohel/names/loew... ''Source]
2. Rabbi Yechiel Michel SPIRA (born about 1530, rabbi in Posen).
Shimshon as father conflicts with information from Lawrence WEINBERG devoutbokononist@gmail.com who has two sources claiming Yechiel Michel SPIRA's father was Yosef Yerushalmi SPIRA.
-[http://www.loebtree.com/spiras.html ''Source]
1. [http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000018808609007# '''Shapira Family Tree Chart]
2. [http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000028047581444 '''Shapiro / Gelles Chart]
3. [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prohel/names/loew... '''Rohel Tree - Spira Family]
4. [http://www.loebtree.com/spiras.html '''Loebtree - Spira Family]
'''DOCUMENTS
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prohel/pictures/L... '''Hebrew Document] showing '''Yosef''' as the father of '''Yechiel'''
*[http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.genealogy.medieval/... '''Luria Family Tree] From Rosenstein, Rottenberg, Encyclopeadia Judaica & Jewish Encyclopedia.
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1017&letter=S '''Spira Family] Jewish Encyclopedia, "Die Grabschriften des alten Judenfriedhof in Wien" - Dr. Bernhard Wachstein, Band I pg. 404
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prohel/names/loew... '''Rohel Spira Tree] According to Lawrence Weinberg Yechiel Michel Spira's father should be Yosef Yerushalmi Spira (born bef 1522 - ) son of Kalman Yerushalmi Spira (born bef 1504 - ).
'''SHAPIRO FAMILY RESEARCH
I sent a posting some time ago reporting that my research studying many SHAPIRO family trees which suggested that all SHAPIROs (and variants) of Lithuania, Belarus, and most SHAPIRO families in Poland and Galicia were descended from one progenitor, namely Rabbi Noson Notte ben Shimshon SHAPIRO of Grodna, author of '''Mevo Shearim''' on the laws of Kashrus and '''Imrei Shefer''', a supercommentary on Rashi. He died in 5337 [1577]. Even kohanim known as KAHANA-SHAPIRO or KATZ-SHAPIRO are his descendants being descended from his son in law Rabbi Yitzchok KATZ-SHAPIRO of Lublin.
According to traditonal genealogy, the yichus continues :
* Rabbi Noson Notte's father was Rabbi Shimshon SHAPIRO of Posen,
* son of Rabbi Noson Notte SHAPIRO of Posen,
* son of Rabbi Perets SHAPIRO av beth din of Constanz in the state of Baden,
* son of Rabbi Shlomo SHAPIRO av beth din of Heilbron and Landau in Bavaria,
* son of Rabbi Shmuel of Speyer which was called Shapiro in Hebrew, whence the name, a descendant of Rashi.
>>In "Bet Almin Heyudi BiPrague" Jerusalem, 5748 (I believe this was translated from a German edition, but I don't know the exact name in German) p. 204, headstone 200 Reb [Binyomin] Wolf Dayan ben Hagaon Rabbi Yechiel [Michal] Zatsal 7 Marcheshvan 5391 [1631], [http://www.porges.net/FamilyTreesBiographies/Scholars.html ''Source: Scribe of the Jewish community of Bonzlau (Bohemia)]
>>In the letter Shmuel writes that he heard from his mother Keila and from her brother Reb Wolf Klit that the rabbi of Posen, Rabbi [Yechiel] Michel had three sons,
>>1) Reb Wolf Elabes (subject of this headstone), the father of Rabbi (Aharon) Shimon SHAPIRO;
>>2)Rabbi Chaim, who inherited his father's position as rabbi of Posen;
>>3) Rabbi Man, rabbi of Brisk deKoi (Brzecz) who died of the plague while fleeing from the Cossaks 12 miles from Hamburg and was buried there. His wife, Rebitzen Yorsy died in the year 1658 in Prague and his son Reb Wolf Belis died in 1651. His daughter Keila, mother of the author of this letter , Shmuel ben leib Porges, died in 1690 and was the widow of Reb Koppel BrandeIs.
I'd like to hear from anyone who can answer the question is who were the parents of Rabbi Yechiel Michel. If anyone has access to the original article in '''MGWJ''' I would like to hear from him.
David Shapiro,
Jerusalem
. dshapiro@actcom.co.il - 1997
