David Shapell, z”l, grew up in Poland in a thriving Jewish world. He witnessed the destruction of that world, along with the murder of most of his family. Surviving the horrors of the death camps, he was reunited with a brother and sister after the war. Meeting his wife Fela in a displaced persons’ camp, they married and moved to the United States in order, in Mrs. Shapell’s words “that my children not be born on German soil.” With his brother and sister, the family began to rebuild their lives in Detroit, and then moved to Los Angeles where they created one of the most successful construction firms in California. David was involved in building some of the institutions of the Orthodox community in Los Angeles in the 1960′s and 70′s, including Beth Jacob Congregation, the largest Orthodox shul west of the Mississippi River, as well as one of the day schools.
David used to sit next to my father in shul on Shabbos, and my personal connection to him goes back to before my Bar Mitzvah. He had won the bidding for Maftir on Simchas Torah, and he told my father that he was giving me the opportunity to have the Aliyah and read the Haftorah. This is just a tiny example of his generosity, as well as his interest in nurturing Jewish education among young people.
As a Holocaust survivor, supporting the State of Israel was at the top of his priority list, and he devoted much of his philanthropy to supporting Israeli causes. The Israel Defense Force had a special place in the hearts of the Shapell family, and they helped build recreation centers for soldiers. The second focus of his support was for Holocaust education, and he was a major contributor to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the Simon Weisenthal Center in Los Angeles and the US Holocaust museum in Washington DC. It was at his urging that Shapell’s/Darche Noam incorporated a very successful program of Holocaust education in our curriculums seven years ago. Finally, his focus on Jewish education and rebuilding Jewish families led him to provide annual support to our programs, and help fund the purchase of facilities for the David Shapell College and Midreshet Rachel v’Chaya. The Shapell’s were very proud of our accomplishments, both in educating thousands of alumni to build authentic Jewish homes, and in the Aliyah of so many alumni, coupled with the range of contributions they have made in every area of life in Israel. Each of our alumni owes them a debt of gratitude for helping us build an institution where each of you grew so much.
David and Fela arrived in Israel a few weeks ago for the Bris of their first great-grandson, with David being the very proud sandek. A few days later they paid a short visit to our schools. David spent some time hearing from students in the Yeshiva and Mrs. Shapell held the women spellbound and in tears, recounting her experiences in Europe. Just a few days after their visit he was taken to the hospital with breathing complications from which he never recovered.
David was a man of few words, always very humble and low-key. But he always knew what he wanted, and he made sure to accomplish it. He truly fulfilled the Mishnah “Emor m’at v’asei harbei” – Speak little, do a lot. The Jewish world has lost a generous man, whose impact will be felt for decades to come. We mourn his loss, and wish strength and comfort to the family.
To sign up to learn Mishnayos in memory of Mr. David Shapell z”l click here
