Beloved Mill Hill shul volunteer dies at 73 after contracting virus
Tributes paid to Rabbi Stanley Michaels who led the shul's bar mitzvah breakfast club and was 'the voice of many a Shabbat'
Rabbi Stanley Michaels, a “mensch” and beloved pillar of Mill Hill United Synagogue, died at 73 yesterday evening after contracting the coronavirus.
Rabbi Michaels, managing director at an accountancy firm and keen Tottenham Hotspur fan, regularly led services at the shul and organised the synagogue’s bar mitzvah breakfast club. He became over the years “synonymous with Mill Hill Shul”, according to his longtime friend Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet.
“I thought I would be all out of tears by now having spent time crying with you on the phone, and then, when you could no longer speak, on my own,” Rabbi Schochet will say in his eulogy speech this afternoon.
“The midnight news last night was devastating. Devastating because somehow deep down I always thought you will pull through,” he is expected to say at the funeral service, to be broadcast on Zoom and Facebook Live, this afternoon.
Rabbi Schochet, who knew Michaels for nearly 30 years, will describe the father-of-two as “synonymous with Mill Hill Shul”.
“You are the voice on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. You are the voice on many a Shabbos. You were the last voice on the last Shabbos before Shul closed. You are the voice in many a bar mitzvah boy’s ear – whether the 500+ that would have attended your bar mitzvah breakfast at the shul on Sunday mornings or the countless other boys whom you taught over the years. To think that your voice will no longer be heard – is just too painful to fathom at the moment,” he will say.
“Devastating also because you are such a mensch. All you ever advocated for was goodness and kindness. All you ever fought for was peace and menchlichkeit. All you ever lived for was communal harmony,” he will add.
Andrew Kaye, of the accountancy firm Hartford Michaels Kaye, paid tribute to his business partner on Friday as someone who “only wanted to help people through everything that he did, whether it was clients from the practice or in his teaching which he loved.”
“He always had time for everybody… So kind, caring and wise. I am totally heartbroken by this tragic loss. Love to Sonia, Alison, Debra, and the family” he added.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis paid tribute, saying: “Like so many others, I was shocked to learn of the passing of Rabbi Stanley Michaels, who contracted the coronavirus. For the past six years, I have davened close to him nearly every morning at the minyan we both attended. I have been inspired by his sincerity, menschlichkeit, humility and spirituality. He will be remembered for his dedication, his beautiful voice, his talent as a teacher and for being a truly lovely person. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his dear family.”
Rabbi Michaels is survived by his wife Sonia and his two daughters Debra and Alison.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
