British Jewry says goodbye to the Queen: "She never let us down" | Israel today

But it fell on British Jewry, which includes hundreds of thousands of people, when the announcement of Queen Elizabeth's passing became known this evening (Thursday).

The Jewish news sites rushed to publish obituaries, and the rabbis to tell about the warm relationship between the community and the queen for the past decades.

"The Queen expressed the most sublime values ​​of the British nation," said Rabbi Ephraim Marvis, the Chief Rabbi of Britain.

"Throughout her years of office, she acted with grace, respect and humility, and was a global role model for leadership and dedication. In a changing world, she was a rock of stability, and a sign of values ​​that do not depend on time."

"She never let us down."

The Chief Rabbi responds to the passing of Her Majesty The Queen.

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— Chief Rabbi Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) September 8, 2022

"Every week in the synagogues, we prayed for her health, for her wisdom, and she never, ever, never let us down. We remember with great appreciation the warm relationship she had with the Jewish community, while emphasizing the memory of the Holocaust. I remember how in one case she showed my wife and me items with "Jewish value and interest in her private collection at Windsor Castle, including a Torah scroll that was saved from the Czech Republic during the Holocaust. Her influence on behalf of Jews was profound and her respect for her values ​​was significant," added Rabbi Marvis.

The former rabbi of Great Britain, Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sachs, presents the Queen with a silver menorah, photo: courtesy of the Conference of Rabbis of Europe

Rabbi Yosef Devek, the chief rabbi of the Sephardic community in Great Britain and a member of the Conference of Rabbis of Europe said that, "A great grief fell upon the country and the Jewish community in Great Britain. Every Shabbat we would pray for the safety and health of Queen Elizabeth. Our ties with her and with Prince Charles were pious and every year The royal house supported the events of the Jewish community and helped us, in order to maintain the religious freedom of the Jews in the country and to fight anti-Semitism throughout the kingdom. Just before the Corona period, I had the privilege of visiting you at Buckingham Palace and thanking them for their close relations with the Jewish community. May her memory be blessed."

Rabbi Yosef Devek with Prince Charles, photo: Courtesy of the Conference of Rabbis of Europe

In the Jewish community, throughout the many years during which Elizabeth reigned as queen, they made sure to pray for her healing and prosperity.

In the synagogues they used to say a prayer for the peace of the Queen and the British nation every Shabbat, and now many of these blessings, some of them 60 and 70 years old, have been published on social networks.

Thus, one of the prayers, "Blessing to Queen Yerom Hoda" was done in front of the Ark of the Covenant on Shabbat.

"The King of Kings, by His mercy, may she live and preserve, and from all trouble and grief she will rescue, and He will give in the heart and in the heart of all her counselors a spirit of wisdom and understanding, to maintain the peace of the kingdom and the peace of her people, and to do kindness and truth to all Israel."

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