[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1087-E1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO RABBI IRWIN GRONER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2002

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, June 20 there will be a 
celebration of the 70th birthday of Rabbi Irwin Groner and the 40th 
anniversary of his service to Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, 
Michigan.
  Shaarey Zedek has a long and distinguished history in the Detroit 
metropolitan area. It has served as a spiritual home for tens of 
thousands of families, including my own beginning with my beloved 
grandparents and so many others after their arrival from Europe and 
continuing with our parents of blessed memory and their generation.
  Rabbi Groner came to the leadership of Shaarey Zedek after the tragic 
death of Rabbi Morris Adler. He continued, indeed deepened, the 
tradition of meeting the needs of individual spirituality and serving 
both the Jewish community and the broader community of metropolitan 
Detroit.
  During his 40 year tenure, Rabbi Groner has responded to the needs of 
all whether in times of joy or moments of bereavement, whether 
encouraging the young in search of knowledge, new families seeking 
guidance and support for their aspirations, or older persons. His 
sermons over the years have been marked by their insightfulness, 
wisdom, and wit, delivered with the brilliance of his unique oratory. 
As said by his colleagues, he is ``a brilliant orator and original 
thinker.''
  Even more significant still has been Rabbi Irwin Groner's endeavors 
one on one. For thousands, he filled gaps when there was a deep vacuum 
and provided strength at times of weakness.
  He has reached out to the broader community on national issues, on 
state issues, serving as the Chairman of the Michigan Judicial Tenure 
Commission, and on metropolitan Detroit issues, having been active in 
programs of interfaith dialogue and honored at the annual Dove dinner, 
along with Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida.
  It is an honor to be able to present in the Congressional Record, on 
behalf of so

[[Page E1088]]

many of my constituents and so many others, a heartfelt tribute to 
Rabbi Irwin Groner. Forty plus seventy has the sound of biblical 
numbers; Rabbi Groner has surely lived up to, indeed exceeded, his 
biblical calling.

                          ____________________