Mourning at Geogrian community: chacham Moshe Michaelshvili gone

Baruch Dayan Ha'emes: on Friday afternoon, Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Bamidbar, Chacham Hagaon Moshe Michaelshvili zt"l, Chief Rabbi of the Jews of Georgia, died at the age of 81.

Chacham Rabbi Moshe Michalsoili zt"l was born in Colashi to his father Chacham Shabtai Michaelshvili, son of Chacham Rabbi Avraham Michaelshvili, and his mother Zipporah A"H. He absorbed his education at the home of his father and grandparents, where he was educated to love of Torah, love of Israel and observance of Mitzvos. When he came of age, he married his wife Mrs. Leah nee Batoniashvili.

Together with his brothers chacham Yaakov Michaelshvili and chacham Ben Zion Michaelshvili, he was of the first immigrants from Georgia, before the opening of the Iron Curtain and the large aliyah from Georgia in the seventies. They immigrated to Israel in 1967 with the end of the Six Day War.

When he came to Israel he lived with his family in Kfar Chabad. A few years later, he was sent by the Rebbe to the city of Kiryat Malachi to receive the many immigrants from Georgia (in the words of the Rebbe), since then he served as rabbi of the Georgian community in the city.

Chacham Moshe was vigorously active on education of children and youth of the Georgian community in the Jewish heritage. He was among the initiators of the kollel for yeshiva students in Lod, along with his brother Chacham Ben Zion and Chacham Rafael Alashvili, who was Chief Rabbi of Georgian Jews, from which came many rabbis serving communities from Georgia.

In previous years he ran a Talmud Torah network in the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon for the children of the community, in the afternoon.

He served for years as the chief rabbi of the Jews of Georgia, and as president of Georgian organization of Chabad, acting in education for the Jewish heritage of the Georgian community, and located in Ashdod.

During the funeral - held in Nachalat Har Chabad, the local rabbi Rabbi Yitzchak Yehuda Yaroslavsky, appointed his son Rabbi Shabtai, to replace him. Rabbi Yaroslavsky called on the Georgian community members to come and pray in shull. The funeral was attended by hundreds of residents of Har Chabad, along with many from the Georgian community and Chabad Chassidim from all over the country.

MK Eli Yishai of Shas published a mourning notice on Chacham Moshe zt"l, noting that he is painful and commiserates the Georgian community and friends and disciples of the Rabbi. "His unique wealth of knowledge and understanding of the Torah, Halacha and generally holy books were rare and unique, and his place will be hard to fill. Zecher tzaddik vekadosh livracha - May he commend good to all of Israel," Yishai eulogized.

May his soul be bound in the bond of life.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!