A Personal Glimpse of a Rabbi
'World War t 1 Miracle'
Morris Adler's 50th Birthday
By DR. LEONARD SIDLOW
President, Congregation Shaarey Zedek
At services-on Sabbath morn-
- ing, March 31, the ,congrega-
tional family of Shaarey Zedek
will pay tribute to Rabbi Mor-
ris Adler on the occasion of the
50th anniversary of his birth.
I am certain that the mem-
bers of the general community
join the con,gregational family
RABBI MORRIS ADLER
in extending felicitations and
best wishes to Rabbi Adler for
a long life of continued service
to God and man. Rabbi Adler
has native modesty, the grace of
propriety, and many other at-
tributes, but the space allot-.
ted does not allow a recital of
all his individualized activity.
Nor would a listing of Rabbi
Adler's specific honors and ac-
complishments be truly signifi-
cant unless it were mirrored
in the greater frame of refer-
e n c e of the background in
which the modern American
rabbi works.
A graduate of the College
of the City of New York,
formerly rabbi of Temple
Emanu-B1, Buffalo, Rabbi
Adler came to Detroit's Con-
gregation Shaarey Zedek in
1938. Author of "Selected
Passages From the Torah"
and a contributor of articles
to leading Jewish- publica-
tion.s, he also has gained
national prominence as an
orator.
• * •
He served as Chaplain in the
Philippines and in the South-
west Pacific, and on Sept. 2,
1945, became the first Jewish
Chaplain in Japan.
He is a former president of
the Zionist Organization of De-
troit, serves - on the boards of
the Jewish Welfare Federation
and the Detroit 'Round Table,
as well as a number of .re-
ligious and civic groups locally
and nationally. He is former
chairman of the Law Commit-
tee of the Rabbinical Assembly
of America, - member of the
Mayor's Labor - Management -
Citizens Committee, member of
the Governor's Committee to
Study the Problems of the
Aged, was National Chaplain
of AMVETS (1952-53), National
Chaplain of Jewish War Vet-
erans :(1953-54).
Last year, he was Visiting
Professor of Homiletics at the
Jewish Theological Seminary
of America, while on a sab-
batical leave from his De-
troit pulpit.
* S *
A prominent rabbi arid author,
Rabbi Adler, haS very succinctly
depicted the changing•role of the
American rabbi. Synagogues to-
day, • he points out, are to a great
extent the lengthened shadows
of its rabbi, and concomitantly
Jewish destiny will be decided
in no small degree by the cali-
ber of their rabbis. He Men-
tions, further, that among the
areas in which a modern rabbi
functions involves his being
comprehensively learned in Ju-
daism, in its historic and tradi-
tional aspects; as well as having
a high degree of ability to
communicate this learning. He
must possess the quality of per-
sonal Judaic influence. He must
have the ability to interpret
Judaism in the context of
American Jewish life and rep-
resent this larger point of view
in every segment of work in
which he engages.
« * *
To those areas and many
other s, Rabbi Adler has
brought honor and distinc:
Lion. As student, teacher and
author he has and continues
to demonstrate a high degree
of scholarship.
By a continuous series of bril-
liant 'dissertations, he constant-
ly and freely communicates his
profound thinking and erudi-
tion to his congregants and the
community at large. His per-
sonal influence is easily attest-
ed to by the many whose ages
range from the Beth Hayeled
children of the Shaarey Zedek
congregational school to their
grandparents. He is their friend
—in joy, sorrow and perplexity.
He has a personal warmth and
depth of feeling that does not
veer him away from personal
involvement.
*
*
Rabbi Adler's interpretation
of Judaism in the light of our
environment has been courag-
eous and tenacious to the au-
thentic Jewish position. Some-
times, a not generally accepted
viewpoint happens to be his
interpretation. This does not de-
ter Rabbi Adler from stating it
and pursuing it to the very
limits of reasonableness. Most
often his wisdom on the matter
is superbly borne out. Where
the interpretation finally pre-
vails, I have never detected an
air of superiority, and where it
did not, he has accepted con-
trary decisions with gracious-:
ness.
While the Synagogue — its
congregants and school—have
always predominated in his ac-
tivity, his sheer concern and
ability to grasp the -importance
of Social problems has forced
him to actively participate in
many communal action groups.
His entry into the chaplaincy
during the last war . bears this
out very well..
' • • * * *
The relationship between
Rabbi Adler and Congregation
Shaarey Zedek deserves • de-
scription far beyond the scope
of this tribute. I must pay
humble respects to the syna-
gogue leadership of some 18
years ago whose alert eyes
quickly caught the character of
his energies and abilities, and
who invited Rabbi Adler to
serve as a spiritual advisor to
our Congregation. As a tribute
to Rabbi Adler and all the lay
leadership with whom he has
worked subsequently, no rela-
tionship to my knowledge, in
any synagogue in our country,
has been better, kinder and
more understanding.
`Through Rabbi Adler's - direc-
tion, Shaarey Zedek has held
onto and built higher its stan-
dards of tradition.
•
* * *
Shaarey Zedek's congrega-
tional family is proud of Rabbi
Adler, probably more than for
any other reason—that he is
our personal friend and that
we are happy with the:influ-
ence he has had on our lives.
May God grant him length
of days, good health, personal
happiness and spiritual satisfac-
tion in his noble and conse-
crated endeavors. May Shaarey
Zedek continue to- be blessed
with the outstanding .spiritual
statesmanship of its - beloved
rabbi.
Detroit Jewish News-9
rriday March 23 1956
"Miracle of World War II,"
by Francis Walton; published by
Macmillan, is an account of
American industry's amazing
role in the last
war. Between
1939 and 1945
nearly 200,000
businesses pro-
duced war ma-
terial with a
value of a hun-
dred billion Walton
dollars. While the workers con-
verted the auto industry, built
the greatest air and sea armadas
in history and created city-sized
-factories, management struggled
with politicians and military
"brass," trained and directed a
giant labor force, and alternately
fought and . cooperated with
Washington. It is a memorable
story.
Mr. Walton, author of two
novels and a technical book on
aviation, for the first two
years of World War II served
as West Coast representative of
Aircraft Manufacturers Associ-
ation. He worked on the staffs
of New York Times and Herald
Tribune.
Kappy gassover to
o7he &dire Community
Out of Passover- has grown the tradition for
Freedom and humanity's craving for Liberty
and Justice. On this Festival of Freedom, we
dedicate ourselves anew to the ideals of justice
and liberty—to causes I ike our Allied Jewish
Campaign which makes it possible for the
hungry to be fed, the naked to be clothed, the
oppressed to be freed, the homeless to have
permanent havens.
Mr. and Mrs. Abe. Kasle
and Family
In the spirit of
Passover —
Freedom
shall abide!
"God brought us forth from
bondage to freedom, from
subjection to redemption,
from sorrow to joy, from
mourning to festivity, and
from darkrtess to great
light." --Hagadah -
The Hordes Insurance Agency
17616 Wyoming
.
at Thatcher
UN. 3-2900
Extends heartiest greetings to all its friends and associates,
and to the entire Jewish Community, for a
HAPPY PASSOVER
.
We proclaim our faith in our freedom and in the ultimate,triumpli
of all democratic aims as we read again this passage from the
traditional Passover Hagadah which admonishes us to perpetuate
the message of our great Festival of Freedom.
In every generation, one ought to regard himself as though he had per-
sonally come out of Egypt. As it is said: "And thou shalt tell thy son on that
day, saying: This is on account of what the Lord did for me when I went
forth from Egypt." Not • only our forefathers did the Holy One, blessed is
He, redeem, but also ourselves did He redeem with them. As it is said:
"And us did He take out from there, in order to bring us hither to give
us the land which he had sworn unto our fathers."
Mr. and Mrs. William Hordes
Mr. and Mrs. Earl Hordes
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Wishnetsky
and the
Hordes Agency
Associates
Brokerage Business Solicited
•