May I begin by wishing you,

the Jewish people everywhere.

May I begin by wishing you,

a healthy year, a

Jewish people everywhere.

A shana tovar. May it be a good year for you and for them a healthy year, a safe year and hopefully a sweet year as well.

For you, for us and for all Israel. Amen.

When I was Chief Rabbi, I used to have to go everywhere with protection offices because, after all, I was

a, considered to be a target and a risk. And although it was difficult, actually, never to be

able to go out on your own, it was also very reassuring and very comforting. Sometimes it was also actually very amusing.

When I arrived at a venue, for instance, where I was going to be speaking, let's say it was a big office block,

my protection officer would go ahead and tell the receptionist that I was arriving.

And I remember on one occasion, he went ahead to the receptionist and said,

Chief Rabbi. And the receptionist looked up at my protection officer and said,

Good to meet you, Chief Rabbi, but tell me who's the bloke with the beard behind you?

So, you know, once in a while we had a little laugh.

But I used to say to them, there is a Hebrew word, which means two quite different things, and it's usually pronounced in two quite different ways.

The word bitachon sometimes pronounced

bitochen. Bittachon means security and Bitochen means faith or trust. And the

connection between those two meanings in that one word is, I think,

very significant. The reason I say this is that the various questionnaires and research exercises

that have been done recently on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

...