Religion
Morris Adler
1906–1966 · rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Zedek
Influential Conservative rabbi who led Detroit's Shaarey Zedek for two decades and was fatally shot on its pulpit in 1966, a crime that shook the Jewish world.
- Born
Slutsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus)- Died
- Also known as
- Rabbi Morris Adler
- Detroit years
- 1938–1966
- Field
- Religion
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Morris Adler was born in Slutsk in 1906, grew up in the United States and, after serving a Reform temple in Buffalo, came to Detroit in 1938 as assistant rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, the city's leading Conservative synagogue. He guided the congregation's shift from Orthodox to Conservative practice, helped found the Detroit Yiddish Theater Guild in 1942 and served as an army chaplain in the Pacific during World War II. Named chief rabbi in 1946, he became one of the most respected religious voices in postwar America, active in labor mediation, civil rights and interfaith work. In 1961 he oversaw Shaarey Zedek's move from Detroit to a striking new building in Southfield designed by Percival Goodman. On February 12, 1966, during a Bar Mitzvah service, a troubled young congregant, Richard Wishnetsky, shot Adler and then himself before the congregation. Adler died on March 11 after weeks in a coma. The shooting was reported worldwide; a Southfield school and a stretch of the M-10 freeway bear his name.
Highlights
- Rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek from 1938, chief rabbi from 1946
- Led the congregation's move to its Southfield building in 1961
- Shot on the synagogue's pulpit on February 12, 1966
- A Southfield elementary school and part of the M-10 freeway are named for him
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1961–1966
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
The congregation's Percival Goodman-designed synagogue in Southfield, which Adler led it into and where he was shot in 1966.
Memorial
Morris Adler Memorial Highway (M-10)
The stretch of the M-10 freeway passing in front of Shaarey Zedek in Southfield is named after him.