Rabbi Meir Yisroel Azrylewitz taught for decades in the Chasan Sofer school in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., leaving a reputation as a stellar teacher and role model. He passed away in April after contracting COVID-19.

“He believed so much in his students and made learning so delightful for all of them. He cared so much that all of his students should experience success, and motivated all of us to try to reach and achieve more,” said a former student.

Azrylewitz was a passionate teacher, and the special sing-song melody he taught based on Talmud studies still rings in students’ ears, they have said.

He would encourage students to memorize all 613 commandments in the Torah—something that hundreds wound up doing because of his mentorship.

In his later years, he dedicated more time to his own Torah study, going on to complete the entire Talmud just weeks before his passing in a celebration with family and friends.

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