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FRIDAY, JUNE 21
10" 111"

`Gronerisms' Abound

The rabbi is famous among congregants
for the admonitions and suggestions he
use's in sermons, affectionately known as
"Gronerisms." They usually are heard at
the beginning of a sermon, especially on
the High Holidays.
"I use humor to encourage the
audience to listen and be more atten-
tive," he said.
Many real-life humorous incidents
have punctuated Rabbi Groner's rabbini-
cal career. "One time, a member came
to my office complaining that a eulogy I
had just given was not good enough for
the deceased," he recalls. "He told me to
give a better eulogy at his funeral. I told
him that if he felt so strongly about it,
he should write the eulogy himself and I
would deliver it when the time came.
He replied, 'I can't ... I'm too modest.'
Cantor Chaim Najman, who has
stood beside Rabbi Groner on the
Shaarey Zedek bimah for 23 years,
remembers the time they were officiating
at the cemetery and the pallbearers —
wearing suits and yarmulkes — obvious-
ly were not Jewish and unsure of what to
do. The wind suddenly blew the yarmul-
ke off the head of one of them ... into
the grave. The others quickly took off
their yarmulkes, and, with military-like
precision, threw them into the grave.
"We've shared many of life's experi-
ences together, and he's always been sup-
portive of all of my endeavors ... musi-
cal, religious and congregational," said
Cantor Najman. "He's a brilliant orator
and original thinker ... and I consider
him to be my mentor, my rabbi, my col-
league and a caring friend."
Rabbi David Nelson of Congregation
Beth Shalom in Oak Park, who has
known Rabbi Groner for 30 years, came
to Detroit during the Munich Olympics
tragedy of 1972, when several Israeli ath-
letes were killed by terrorists.
"Rabbi Groner rose to the occasion by
giving a talk to the community that real-
ly touched a chord and deeply moved
and rallied everyone," he said. "He's a
gifted orator."
Robert Aronson, chief executive offi-
cer of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, who first met
Rabbi Groner 13 years ago, agrees he is
"the spiritu al leader of the Jewish com-
munity ... everyone turns to him for
healing and leadership."
"Whenever I need counsel and per-
spective on a matter," Aronson said, "I
go to him, and he gives me the time and
attention that demonstrate his feeling for
the importance of the Federation. He has
been the leader in the ongoing effort to
bring the Federation and the community
closer together ... especially our syna-

gogues. He has helped us become collab-
orative partners."

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A Fulfilling Lift

"Summing up his career, Rabbi Groner
philosophizes: "If I had to do it all over
again, I wouldn't change anything. I did
,
the best I could do.'
In recent years, he's been slowed up by
some ailments; his walking pace has
diminished and it's a bit hard to under-
stand his voice at times, but the voice
becomes powerful when he reaches the
climactic point of a sermon. He suffered
a mild stroke in 1999, while visiting the
Hermelins in Oslo, Norway. He told the
congregation about the stroke in a letter
— then rebounded within months.
Recently, he cut his workload and
now alternates sermons at Shabbat serv-
ices with the other members of Shaarey
Zedek's new "rabbi team," developed
under synagogue immediate past presi-
dent Lawrence Berry Bloomfield Hills,
a third-generation Shaarey Zedek presi-
dent.
"Our congregation is so large now, the
spiritual needs of our members require
the service and dedication of four rab-
bis," Rabbi Groner explained. The others
are Rabbis Joseph Krakoff, Jonathan
Berkun and Leonardo Bitran. Rabbi
Bitran mainly handles the B'nai Israel
Center.
"Rabbi Groner has been masterful in
helping create a smooth transition of our
rabbi team," said current synagogue
President James Safran of Franklin, a sec-
ond-generation Shaarey Zedek chief
"His wisdom, insights and experience
blend beautifully with the youth, vigor
and fresh ideas of the other rabbis."
Asked about reports he will retire next
year and assume emeritus status, Rabbi
Groner is noncommittal. Safran declined
to comment on specifics. One of Rabbi
Groner's eventual retirement projects will
be to turn his collection of sermons into
a book
"My outlook has been the same
throughout my career and continues to
be the same for the future," he said, cit-
ing the words of Solomon Schechter, the
noted Jewish educator, author and
philosopher: 'Always leave a little bit for
God to take care of" ❑

The Rabbi Irwin Groner 70th
Birthday Celebration will be held
Thursday, June 20, at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield; cock-
tails at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and
a multi-media program. Cost is $100
per person. For further information,
call: (248) 357-5544.

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6/14
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