We invite you to share your memories, thoughts and condolences for Rabbi Alan Plancey MBE, who passed away on Sunday 8 June 2025, 12 Sivan 5785 and Rebbetzin Miriam Plancey, who passed away on Friday 13 June 2025, 17 Sivan 5785.
Rabbi and Rebbetzin touched the lives of so many through their kindness and commitment to helping others. Please use this online book of condolences to share your memories and thoughts of them both.
Your messages will be shared with the family and will be a source of comfort to them during this extremely difficult time.
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379 Comments.
Rabbi Plancey was one of a kind and very special to our family for over 45 years. He was involved in all our many simchas as well as the sad times too and always knew what to say. I looked forward to his sermons in Shul, even as a child and his great jokes! The world has lost a legend.
Wishing long life to Miriam, his rock, and all his family. May his memory be a blessing.
I first met Rabbi Plancey on a plane that was travelling from London Luton airport to Glasgow, when we were both going to attend ShabbatUK 2016, albeit in different Shuls: Rabbi Plancey was guest speaker at the Shul in the Park and the Travelling Chassidim enjoyed a beautiful Shabbat at the Giffnock and Newlands Synagogue, where Rabbi Rubin and his community made us feel so welcome.
Still, the way Rabbi Plancey OBM gave of himself during our trip together made a lasting impression on me and stayed with me all those years. One short encounter with many happy memories!
My fondest memories of Rabbi Plancy was his Friday afternoon introduction to Shabbat with his sedra of the week on Shalom FM Radio. Also his regular lectures on a Shabbat afternoon at Edgware United Synagogue summer lectures. He was a great man with a wonderful sense of humour and will be greatly missed. I wish long wife to Miriam and his children.
Really sorry for your loss, Rabbi Plancey was a wonderful, kind person and a true leader. Wishing his family and Wife a long life. HaMakom yenachem etchem betoch sha’ar avlei Zion veYerushalayim
Rabbi Plancey had a huge impact on our family. He inspired our son Marc to follow in his footsteps and showed how to be the kind of rabbi that a modern orthodox community needs.
He was a good friend together with Miriam and always had a welcoming smile.
May his memory be a blessing.
We moved into the area in 1987 and Rabbi and Miriam welcomed us into the community.
Rabbi Plancey was larger than life and he built up the community with such love and hard work.
He got our son into a Jewish school which was a difficult task in those days.
He joined through the good and bad times.
Sending love to Miriam and wishing all the family long life
Rabbi Plancey we met in 1987 when we moved into the area. He helped us get our son into a Jewish school which he did and I will be eternally grateful. He was with us through good times and bad and him and Miriam were always there for us. She would often call and we would catch up on things. Wishing Miriam and the rest of the family long life and no further sorrow
Rabbi Plancey was very kind and supportive of our family when we moved to Borehamwood 23 years ago. Marrying us and undertaking our children’s bat / bar mitzvot. He has continued to be there for our family. He enjoyed reaching out to the wider community and took pleasure in supporting me to deliver assemblies at another local faith school, funding their breakfast club resources and generally being a positive representation of Judaism.
Wishing long life to all the Plancy family. Rabbi Plancy was a tremendous Rabbi, friend and confident to our family over almost 50 years. I have great memories of the times spent Nussy and the family. Rabbi Plancy offered practical, no-nonsense advice delivered with a smile. He will be dearly remembered and missed.
Rabbi Plancey always greeted us with a friendly smile and warm heart. He has been pinnacle in the development of the Borehamwood Jewish community which has flourished.
He will be sadly missed by his friends, family and community.
When we first moved to Borehamwood, Rebbetzen Miriam was the first person to call and make us feel welcome here. 2 days later Rabbi Plancey was at our door with some trays full of plenty of food for Shabbos. We were so touched! Whenever Rabbi Plancey saw me out and about- he would offer me a lift (before I got my license) He was so caring and warm, always asking us how we’re keeping and if there’s anything we need. Wishing the family a true nechomo!
Sir m so sad condolences to all the dear family I never new Rabbi Plancey I certainly new about him when he said I blow shover to wake up the congregation A wonderful man a rarity mhsrip amein
Rochelle & Stephen Davis
We were both saddened to hear the very sad news about Rabbi Plancey.
We go back 45 years and counted Rabbi Alan & Miriam as our friends. We have seen this community grow in ways none of us could have imagined .
It’s credit to both of them that we have Shuls, schools, a Mikva , Eruv, delis, restaurants and the biggest growing community in Europe.
We have been lucky to have been hosted at Anthony Road many times . Also Miriam generously, over the years , would bring round delicious food if there was an illness or difficult time.
They would frequently phone to keep in touch.
As many people have said they have been with our family , through all life events , happy and sad. From births, through to Bar , and Batmitzvahs , weddings and illness and death of parents.
We will miss Rabbi Plancey.
Sending all good wishes to Suzy, Nechama, Meir and Nussie and sending all good wishes and Refua Shlayma to Miriam
BDE
Rabbi Plancey was a grandfather figure to my 3 daughters
He was there for me when my late dad passed away
Played a huge part in our lives through the happy times and sad times
Our heartfelt condolences to Miriam and families
Rabbi Plancey was indeed a Pillar of the community and never backed away from taking on new challenges.
I remember the time when he played the bag pipes hailing in the haggis for a Burns evening at Pinner synagogue where he rightly received a standing ovation.
He will be missed by all that knew him for his wit and kindness.
Wish long life to MIriam the children and all the extended family
Such huge love and respect for this man. He guided me as a child at Luton Synagoge and married me many years later. Always smiling. Always a good word to say.
Baruch Dayan Emet. Rabbi Plancey’s passing has left us with a deep sense of sadness and loss. From the moment we arrived in the community just over 22 years ago, he was keen to connect with us and embrace us into the unique warmth of BES which he and Miriam had nurtured over several decades.
Thanks to the Planceys’ legendary hospitality, we made several friendships with our newly-married couples, and through their encouragement took our first steps into communal life which has continued since and is now passed onto our children. This is one of many legacies that Rabbi Plancey leaves from his remarkable life and service to our local Jewish and non-Jewish community, to Anglo-Jewry and to Am Yisrael.
When my cousin tragically died in Israel, Rabbi Plancey visited us that very evening to offer his condolences and words of comfort. On another occasion, he brought us delicious food made by Miriam, hearing that one of us was unwell.
Our community was a richer place for his leadership, dynamism and charisma, and we can only hope to emulate this individually and collectively in his merit.
Wishing Miriam and all the Plancey family chaim aruchim.
We are wishing the whole family a long life and sending all our love. Rabbi Plancey has always been a special part of the Brickman family. We will forever be grateful to him and Miriam for the support that they have given us and the wonderful words that he said at our wedding. Thank you for being a part of our lives. It has been an honour to know you. XXXXX
Rabbi Plancey, a man with an infectious personality. His warm, caring and loving nature ensured that everyone who met him admired and came to love him straight away. Whilst we only came to know him towards the end of his life, the care and concern that he showed towards our family was like no other. After the birth of our daughter he called us one evening instructing us to drive to his house (even though we lived only a few doors down). There, he held a HUMONGOUS box of food Miriam had made us for shabbat – Enough to feed the whole road! Rabbi Plancey thank you for your friendship. You really made everyone feel as though they were your best friend and that you had all the time in the world for them. You will be sorely missed!
A good man who be greatly missed
Yehi zichro baruch
As Chairperson of JACS, I cannot express how greatly missed Rabbi Plancey will be. He was an avid supporter of JACS, and was a brilliant speaker. His humour brightened up any gathering and we are all grateful to have had him in our lives. He supported us at festivals, never failing to bring a new insight into it, combined with his natural ability as a raconteur.
A man who was larger than life together with his wonderful Miriam. He left an imprint on so many of us in both good times and bad. He will be greatly missed.. seeing him daily driving out of theft road was part of my day.
Dear Miriam, Susi, Nechama, Meir and Nussi,
We were so shocked and sorry to hear of the Petirah of your dear husband and father, Alan, and send you our sincere condolences at this sad time.
Alan built up the Borehamwood and Elstree kehillah and was also very active in the wider community – he will be greatly missed.
We hope that, Im yirtzhat haShem, you will celebrate only smachot in future together with your families.
HaMakom yenachem etchem betoch sha’ar avlei Zion veYerushalayim.
Thinking of you,
Rachel (nee Lowenstein) and Jeffrey Levy and family
I will always remember the kindness of Rabbi Plancy when he frequently visited Sunrise of Elstree to spend time with some of the residents and their families. Visits that were beyond his remit but he so kindly shared his precious time nonetheless.
Wishing Long Life to the family.
Rabbi Plancey was a good friend to my family who lived in Elstree many years ago,
Jean and Erwin Lieber, Rosy and Jack Bloom, and myself and sisters and husbands,
Condolences to his family Anne Wayne nee Lieber.
I, together with Jon, Dan, Ben and Judith were so sorry to hear the sad news on Monday and we wish you all a long life. As Dan’s comment to me was ‘ he was our first rabbi ‘ as Dan has moved around shuls, and I think that summed up what all my children felt as they now live all around England. Such fond memories of the Plancey family in the early days of you coming to Anthony Road and our eight children playing together, so well matched in age when young, and the happy times we spent together. I still tell people of how much we appreciated Alan officiating at Peter’s levoya, although he had retired, as we were without a rabbi in our small community and it meant a huge deal to myself and my children to have someone we knew, and who knew Peter. Baruch emet dayan.
I wish the family long life. Alan officiated at my late husband’s funeral which was the first time that I met him. He gave such comfort and brought light to me and to the congregation such that I could not believe. I insisted that he officiate at the stone setting later. He was a truly lovely man and he managed to bring a sense of humour- appropriate and welcome to the most solemn occasion.
He will be sorely missed.
I first met Rabbi Plancy at the Royal Free hospital in 1995 when my late husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was a great support to both me and my 3 children, one of whom was only 9 at the time and took time to visit us all at our home in Bedfordshire. He continued seeing us until after my late husband passed on and I’m forever grateful.
I wish Rebbitzen Miriam and his extended family long life.
i was very upset to hear of the sad passing of Rabbi Plancey. He lived his life with an open heart , his kindness and joy were infectious, his leadership was not just in words but in actions building bridges tearing down fences promoting unity and spreading love. To me and my family he was an inspiration a source of great comfort and a guiding light . His absence leaves a void but his legacy of compassion tolerance and humour will foreever inspire us Our whole family miss him he is eternally loved may his memory be a blessing
Thank you Rabbi Plancey, I will always remember the way you made me and everyone laugh under the chuppah!
What a wonderful man you were…. Our loss is heavens gain.
Thoughts with your family and friends
May your memory be a blessing.