Day 28

Reverend Leslie Hardman a”h was Minister of Hendon United Synagogue from 1946 until 1979. In those years, through his passion and zest for Jewish living, his commitment, enthusiasm and inspirational leadership, Reverend Hardman, together with his wonderful wife, Josi a”h, “grew” the community into one of the largest and most influential of Anglo-Jewry. A significant part of Reverend Hardman’s formidable personality was undoubtedly shaped by his experiences as a British Army Chaplain during the course of the Second World War and, in particular, by his personal involvement in supporting and reviving the shattered spirits of his fellow Jews who had been incarcerated in the infamous Bergen Belsen concentration camp. After Reverend Hardman’s passing in 2008, some of us in the Hendon community, galvanised by one of his grandsons, Daniel Verbov, joined with him to produce a commemorative book – My Dear Friend – which is filled with Reverend Hardman’s teachings, sayings and stories. Amongst them is one of the most poignant illustrations of the holiness of the Jewish spirit that I have thus far encountered.1 Reverend Hardman related how one Friday morning, a middle-aged man, a survivor of the unimaginable horrors of Bergen Belsen, knocked hesitantly on his office door and asked to be given something to eat. Reverend Hardman was somewhat surprised for he knew that the British authorities were doing whatever they could to provide for the material needs of the survivors. The man explained that he was looking for something a little special with which to honour the Sabbath day. Rev Hardman produced a can of sardines from a stock of tinned items which he kept in his cupboard, which was accepted with “pathetic eagerness.”

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