By COLlive reporter
Media outlets in France, Israel and the United States were filled with obituaries about the passing of Rabbi Shmuel Azimov, the legendary Head Shliach of Paris who led a Jewish revival there.
The French edition of the Hamodia newspaper ran a 6-page spread about “Rav Shmuel (Moule) Azimov zatsal, the father of the Jewish revolution in France” with a full overview of his life and photos of key moments.
Writing obituaries about him in Hamodia were France’s Chief Rabbi Chaim Korsia, former Chief Rabbi Yossef Sitruk, Paris Chief Rabbi Michel Guggenheim, Rabbi Yitzchak Kats, head of the Yad Mordechai institutions; Joel Mergui, President of the Constitorie; and Pierre Besnainou, head of the Foundation of French Judaism.
“He is credited with bringing some 1000 Chabad families in France and thousands more now living in other countries” to Judaism, wrote the Sha’ah Tova magazine in a cover story titled “Father of the French Revolution.”
Throughout the week of Shiva, thousands paid visits from around the world, including Rabbis, Shluchim and dignitaries.
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, remarked on the great number of Jews and the city’s residents who were impacted by Rabbi Azimov and the educational institutes he founded.
“We lost a dear man, a noble man, an important man. The whole city is in mourning,” she said.
shluchim should learn from his bitul
it’s very good that it’s all over the place people should learn from the way he was a shliach and the way he dealt with people