Moreinu v’Rabbeinu Harav Yechezkel ben Reuven z’l
Eulogy for Rabbi Alan Plancey z”l
אוי לה לספינה שאבד קברניטה – Woe to the ship that has lost its captain.
That’s how we feel today. Adrift. Bereft. Stunned. But forever grateful that we had Moreinu v’Rabbeinu Harav Yechezkel ben Reuven – Rabbi Alan Plancey MBE at the helm for as long as we did.
As a sign of incredible respect, the Borough standard will fly at half-mast from the Civic Offices today.
There are people who pass through this world and leave behind stories. Then there are unique individuals who build communities. Rabbi Plancey wasn’t just a rabbi – he was a builder – the Builder of this Community.
When the Rabbi and, yebodel l’chaim el chaim, the Rebbetzen and Plancey family, came to Borehamwood, it was a small Jewish suburb with huge potential.
Moshe Rabbeiniu led the Jewish people for 40 years through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Rabbi Plancey led this community בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא זְרוּעָה – from a relative untapped desert. He built it with love, dedication and commitment.
He built it into a flourishing community, one soul at a time, one family at a time, and now it’s the largest Modern Orthodox community in the country.
He built the Shul not just in bricks and mortar, but a Kehillah – a community with humour, warmth and relationships.
He had time for everyone. He knew everyone’s name. He noticed who was missing. He made space for those who weren’t sure where they fit.
For four decades, he guided countless people through lifecycle after lifecycle, from baby namings to funerals, through times of celebration and crisis.
And always with that same quiet strength. That calm voice. That comforting presence.
He built people.
And that’s why, at this sad moment, we have a duty to express Hakarat Hatov – our deep appreciation for everything that Rabbi Plancey did.
הַנִּסְתָּרֹת לַה’ אֱלֹקינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹת לָנוּ וּלְבָנֵינוּ עַד־עוֹלָם – both for those things that were done publicly, but also for all those things that were done in private, behind closed doors, discreetly, that only G-d and the beneficiary knew about.
And so we say now, כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד – as one voice, what perhaps we didn’t say often enough in his lifetime:
Rabbi Plancey – we thank you.
Thank you for everything you did.
Thank you for being there for everyone always.
Thank you for your care, your love, your support, your friendship, your humour.
Thank you for the simchas you enhanced, the wounds you quietly tended, the countless moments when you stood at someone’s side simply because they needed you.
Thank you for the advice given in a quiet corner.
For the children you blessed, the couples you guided, the families you held through grief.
For the Torah you taught – not just with words, but with the way you lived your life.
For the lifetime of service, for the unparalleled chessed.
You gave us more than we can ever fully appreciate.
And we are the richer for having had you.
Everyone will have their own personal reason to be eternally thankful for what you did, large or small, for them.
We also thank and acknowledge the incredible contribution made by Rebbetzen Miriam Plancey, you should be well.
More than just a wife, a true Eishes Chayil, who stood by his side with strength and dignity, it was a complete shutfus – a partnership that ensured that both ruchnius and gashmius were taken care of.
Together, they raised a family rooted in Torah, in values, and in love.
And together with the whole family, beloved children Susy, Nechama, Meir and Nussi, dear sister Phyllis, and the whole family – the sacrifice you made for the Klal is unbelievable.
Rabbi Plancey wasn’t just a family man, he was a community man.
We owe you more than words can ever express.
But together with gratitude, we also come today with humility.
And so we take this opportunity to ask mechilah – forgiveness.
On behalf of the kehillah, I ask for mechilah.
Moreinu v’Rabbeinu moichel us.
If ever we fell short.
If we failed to show you the proper kavod.
If we were slow to thank, quick to criticise, or failed to recognise all that you carried.
We may not always have been the easiest flock, but you were always our shepherd!
Your love for us never failed to shine through.
The Gemara teaches:
Ein tzaddikim tzerichim matzeivah – the righteous don’t need a gravestone.
Divreihem heim zichronam – their words, their deeds, their lives are their memorial.
Rabbi Plancey’s monument is not in stone. It is in us. Inscribed on our hearts.
It’s the Borehamwood and Elstree community, which he shaped and built.
It’s the Kiddush Hashem he made in his service to the wider community.
It’s the generations of families he taught, men, women and children he inspired, the students he mentored, the marriages he blessed, the values he passed on.
His presence may no longer be seen – but it will always be felt.
You know, the Jewish world has an unusual practice, we refer to a Shul, not always by its name, but by the name of the road in which it’s situated – it’s a shorthand.
Only very occasionally is the Shul named after its Rav.
But for very good reason, Borehamwood & Elstree Synagogue is known as ‘Rabbi Plancey’s Shul!’
כן היה וכן יהיה – so it was, is and so it will be!
That is the legacy, together with the zechus of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren oiseik b’Torah u’mitzvos, gemilas chassadim.
Woe to the ship that has lost its captain.
Rabbi Plancey’s passing leaves us feeling unmoored.
But the true measure of a captain is not just how he steers while aboard – but how he prepares the crew to carry on after he is gone.
And Rabbi Plancey prepared us well. He taught us, he guided us, and he inspired us. Now it’s our task to carry that legacy forward.
As we mourn, we also recommit: to honour Rabbi Plancey’s legacy by living what he lived for – Torah, community and kindness.
Yehi zichro baruch – May his memory be for a blessing.