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August 12, 1998
M. ADLER, 83
Andy Wallace, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Myer Adler, 83, former proprietor of Harry's, a market in Powelton Village, and the leader of daily services at Adath Israel in Merion, died of complications from cancer Monday at his home in Wynnefield.
Mr. Adler was born in Chudnik, Poland, in 1914. When the Germans invaded in 1939, he moved to the area of Poland dominated by what was then the Soviet Union. Sent to a Siberian labor camp, he worked as a lumberjack in Irkutsk for four years, then spent two years in Stalingrad.
After the war, he spent four years in a displaced-persons camp before migrating to the United States in 1949. Afterward, according to Rabbi Fred Kazan, the spiritual leader of Adath Israel, where Mr. Adler was the sexton, Mr. Adler would always say he was 49 years old ``because my life began when I came to this country in 1949.''
After working for a time with his brother in Chester, Mr. Adler bought a grocery store at 36th and Powelton and named it Harry's, after the previous owner.
After retiring 15 years ago, he became the mainstay of the minyan in the Tuttleman chapel at Adath Israel, conducting services every morning and evening and teaching others to lead them.
When he was a boy, Mr. Adler's mother wanted him to be a rabbi, so he studied at the yeshiva in Lvov, Ukraine, Rabbi Kazan said. Mr. Adler was so focused on reading the Torah that there was no time for secular studies, and he would say he was 21 before he found out the world was round, Rabbi Kazan recalled.
Though he never became a rabbi, Mr. Adler was a deeply spiritual and much admired man who considered the chapel his province.
``He once said, `Here in the chapel, I'm the boss,' '' Rabbi Kazan said.
But it was his caring rather than his knowledge that inspired the love and respect of many who came to know him.
``He was just a joy, always a quip, and funny,'' Rabbi Kazan said. ``And he was caring.''
Mr. Adler was the person who would take the time to sit with someone who had had lost a family member or friend. For children, he fashioned hand-made dreidls (tops) for Hanukkah or noisemakers for Purim. Often, said Rabbi Kazan, Mr. Adler supplied herring or bagels, lox and cream cheese, or snacks for the morning minyan.
Mr. Adler, who outlived two wives, is survived by his companion, Regina Field, and his son, Leon.
Services were held yesterday.
Contributions may be made to the Rev. Myer Adler Jewish Education Fund, Adath Israel, 250 N. Highland Ave., Merion 19066.
Copyright (c) 1998 The Philadelphia Inquirer, reprinted with permission
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