Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, issued a special prayer in English and Hebrew to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. It was shared by Beth Israel\u2019s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld at the opening of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign Sept. 8, hours after the Queen passed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an age of profound change, she signified order and justice; and in times of tension, she offered generosity of spirit,\u201d the prayer read. \u201cA defender of faith with an unfailing sense of duty, she was a steadfast guardian of liberty, a symbol of unity and a champion of justice in all the lands of her dominion.\u2026 In life, she was a most gracious monarch, who occupied a throne of distinction and honour. In death, may her legacy inspire the nations of the world to live together in righteousness and in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
History\u2019s longest serving British monarch, Elizabeth II passed away 70 years and 214 days after ascending the throne upon the death of her father, King George VI.<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s Governor General Mary Simon paid homage to the Queen and, on Monday, the government announced that Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, perhaps accompanied by others, would represent the country at the monarch\u2019s funeral Sept. 19.<\/p>\n
President Isaac Herzog will represent Israel at the Queen\u2019s funeral. Jewish leaders around the world joined others in lauding the Queen\u2019s service.<\/p>\n
In 2005, the monarch attended a ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. According to reports, she refused to be ushered away by staff, instead remaining to speak individually to the attendees and listening to each of their experiences of survival.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave each survivor \u2013 it was a large group \u2013 her focused, unhurried attention. She stood with each until they had finished telling their personal story. It was an act of kindness that almost had me in tears,\u201d the late British chief rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks wrote afterward. \u201cOne after another, the survivors came to me in a kind of trance, saying: \u2018Sixty years ago I did not know if I would be alive tomorrow, and here I am today talking to the Queen.\u2019 It brought a kind of blessed closure into deeply lacerated lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queen Elizabeth II was patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, a British government-funded charity that promotes International Holocaust Remembrance Day.<\/p>\n
Buckingham Palace seems to have maintained an unspoken boycott of Israel, one of the countries the Queen never visited, although she met many Israeli leaders and knighted the former prime minister and president Shimon Peres.<\/p>\n
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