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Harvey Belovski, rabbi at Golders Green United Synagogue:

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Today, 4th June, was a memorable moment during the Second World War in 1940.Ìý In mid-May the German army had invaded France and progressed rapidly.Ìý Within a week, they had reached the English Channel, forcing the Allied troops back to Dunkirk, on the northern coast of France, where they were a sitting target.

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The British government launched ‘Operation Dynamo’, one of the most audacious evacuation manoeuvres of all time.Ìý Over 338,000 Allied troops were successfully rescued in what Prime Minister Winston Churchill called ‘a miracle of deliverance’.Ìý He had expected a terrible disaster, one that, thank God, did not materialise.

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Operation Dynamo ended on 4th June.Ìý On the same day, Churchill, who had been prime minister for less than a month, addressed parliament.Ìý There he gave a speech now known as ‘we shall fight on the beaches’ after its most famous line.Ìý Fearful that a Nazi invasion of mainland Britain was imminent, he spoke of perseverance, valour and his absolute certainty that all would be well in the end.Ìý He said:

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We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…

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Churchill’s speech was delivered at the lowest ebb of the war, yet he rallied a nation, encouraging them, inspiring them with his unshakable confidence in a better future.Ìý Who knows how Churchill really felt, but his combination of passion and perseverance – what the author Angela Duckworth calls ‘grit’ – changed the direction of the war.

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Churchill’s approach reminds me of an ancient idea that appears in the book of Proverbs:

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Although the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when disaster strikes.

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A fragile person gets knocked off course easily.Ìý When something goes wrong, they give up and walk away.Ìý In contrast, the mark of the developed person is perseverance, the confidence that however difficult things may be, with God’s help, we will eventually succeed.Ìý This is known as ‘Dunkirk spirit’ named for an extraordinary moment 78 years ago.