Rabbi Natan Nata Shapira was born to Rabbi Shlomo Shapira in the year 5345 (1585), and was named after his grandfather, the Head of the Beit Din of Hrodna (Grodno, Belarus) and author of Imrei Shefer. He became known for his book Megaleh Amukot in which he explained in 252 ways [the numerical value of “enough for you” (רב לך), God’s words to Moses telling him that he had prayed enough to enter the Land. In 5377 (1617), at the age of thirty-one, he was accepted as the head of the yeshiva and preacher in Krakow, replacing the Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Margaliot, from whom Rabbi Natan received guidance in the mysteries of Kabbalah. He fulfilled all his public roles without expectation of reward as his father-in-law provided for all his needs. Moreover, he supported charitable institutions and dedicated sacred objects and precious fabrics to the synagogue, including a silver plate, a curtain, and mantles embroidered with gold and pearls. Rabbi Shapira composed many additional works including Chidushei Anshei Shem on Rabbi Isaac of Fez (known as the Rif), Megaleh Amukot on the Torah, and a thousand interpretations on the minor aleph in the first word of the Book of Leviticus of which only a few survived. He taught his yeshiva students the revealed Torah through in-depth analysis, but when he preached publicly, he also relied on the hidden Torah and wove deep secrets with sweet simple interpretations. He passed away on the 13th of Av 5393 (1633) and was buried in the ancient Jewish cemetery in Krakow.
After the passing of the Megaleh Amukot, a young man came to Krakow and approached the cemetery caretaker with a request. Since he saw that there was an empty burial plot next to the grave of the Megaleh Amukot, he wished to purchase this plot for himself. When the caretaker heard the young man's words, he began to rebuke him: “Who are you to think yourself worthy of being laid to rest in such a holy place?” But the young man persisted. He was willing to pay a considerable sum for the purchase of the plot. Days passed, and one day the caretaker began to think about the matter and said to himself: "The expenses of maintaining the cemetery are many, the fund is empty, and here is a rare opportunity before me to fill the fund... I will approach the young man, sell him the grave, and then everything will be settled. I am old and my days are numbered, and when this young man’s time comes, he will not know to whom to turn to prove the purchase." He took the money from the young man but did not register the grave in his name.
