By COLlive reporter
Mr. Bernard – Berel Perrin, a businessman and baal tzedakah from Manchester, UK who merited to have a close relationship with the Rebbe, passed away on Friday, 16 Tammuz, 5782.
Bernard was a businessman and a supporter of Chabad in England, whose father, R’ Shlomo Perrin, was a London furrier who came from a family which was close to Lubavitch for generations.
He told how his father visited New York to visit the Rebbe, and from then became a staunch follower of the Rebbe, and subsequently, he did as well. Both he and his father merited to receive advice in business from the Rebbe many times.
His father was a major supporter of Lubavitch of London in its formative years and had a close relationship with the chossid Reb Itche the Masmid who would visit their home in London.
Bernard was a resident of Manchester, and was a staunch supporter of Chabad and involved in the Chabad activities in the city.
At the Rebbe’s request, he was the sole supporter of the building of a mikveh for men in Manchester.
He told: “When I agreed to take on this project, the Rebbe took out thirty English pounds – three ten-pound notes – and gave the money to me, saying “This is from me.” And then he brought out another thirty, saying, “And this is from the Rebbetzin … You must pay the rest, but I would prefer that nobody else participates. The Rebbetzin and I will be your only partners in this endeavor.”
“When I undertook to do it, I didn’t know what would be involved in building a mikveh according to Lubavitch specifications. It proved quite complicated, and it took years in planning and execution. As I agreed, I paid for the whole of it myself and I named it the Shlomo Perrin Mikveh after my father, who would have been very proud to be associated with this or any of the Rebbe’s undertakings.”
Bernard funded a bi-lingual edition of the Tanya, also at the Rebbe’s request. The Rebbe gave him very specific instructions about who should print the book and how it should be printed, he said. The project was done together with Rabbi Nachman Sudak, Hershel Gorman, and Zalmon Jaffe, and took six years to complete.
When the book was published, the Rebbe held a special farbrengen at Chabad Headquarters in celebration, and he gave each person on the publishing committee a signed copy.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Hilda Perrin, and children Mrs. Yvonne Klein – Manchester, Mrs. Debra Bergson – Manchester, Mr. Alan Perrin – London, and Dr. Raymond Perrin – Manchester.
The Levaya took place on Friday.
Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.
What a zchus !
My connection with Berel Perrin spans over sixty years to 1959-5719 when he would walk over from his home in Amhurst Road Stoke Newington and help with the Lubavitch original boys minyan founded by reb Aron Dov Sufrin. As years passed he had various conversations with the Rebbe about my progress while i was learnmg in 770. After I married Sora, Berel would come to Glasgow on business and stayed and ate with us numerous times for many years. At one point all the maaser profits he made from selling furs coats in Glasgow and throughout Scotland he would donate… Read more »
Thank you Chaim from my whole mishpacha
I know how close you were to my father
I remember how much he looked forward to his trips to Glasgow to do business and to see his friends in Giffnock and Newton Mearns
Thank you for your friendship with our family over the many years
Long May it continue
Love and best wishes for only simchas
Raymond
BDH, my condolences to the family, yosef bardwigdor
I along with my mother and siblings have been so touched by all the good wishes and many stories from around the world ….. Especially from my father’s extended family of Lubavitchers! Over the shiva it was so lovely to meet up with and to hear from friends from my youth such as Reb Levi Sudak who drive up from London on the hottest of days just to comfort us Thank you all for getting In touch Yossi …. It has been 42 years since we shared a room in Morristown ( yeshiva) and I have fond memories of my… Read more »
Thank you Yossi how lovely to hear from you
I still have many fond memories of my Argentinian chaver in Morristown
With the matte tea in the afternoon
We have been so touched by all the messages of love and stories of how people were touched by Dad over the years
We should meet up one day
If you are still in New York I will be lecturing there in the coming year
Please send me your contact details
Love from
Raymond (Reuven)
I have the best memories of Mr. Bernard Perrin, his wife Hilda and his son Raymond when they came to Crown Heights and stayed in our home.
I was a young girl and loved when our “english guests” came to CH. I remember the hours he spent writing notes after Yechidus with the Rebbe. He was always a gentleman.
May Hashem bless your family with the rewards of all of Bernard’s good works and Chesed. BDE.
Sheina Fraida (Rubaszkin) Levin