Leib Groner
{{short description|American rabbi}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Leib Groner
| image = File:Ahron Daum Schneerson.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Groner (left, back turned) with the Lubavitcher Rebbe (right) during the distribution of dollars
| birth_name = Yehuda Leib Groner
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|04|25}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|04|07|1931|04|25}}
| death_place = New York City
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| spouse = Yehudis Gurewytz
| children = 7
| occupation = Personal secretary to the Lubavitcher Rebbe
| years_active = 1949 - 1994
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
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Yehuda Leib "Leibel" Groner ({{langx|yi|יהודה ליב גראנער}}; April 25, 1931 – April 7, 2020) was an American Hasidic Jewish teacher, scholar, and author. He is best known for having served as the personal secretary to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, for 40 years.{{cite news |last1=Zaklikowski |first1=Dovid |title=Rabbi Leibel Groner, Member of Secretariat to the Lubavitcher Rebbe |url=http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2114575/Rabbi-Leibel-Groner-Long-Time-Aide-of-Rebbe.html |accessdate=8 April 2020 |publisher=Lubavitch.com |date=8 April 2020}}
Early life and education
Yehuda Leib Groner was born in New York City on April 25, 1931.Kaplan, Musia. "Rabbi Leibel Groner, z'l". Hamodia, May 6, 2020, p. 32. His parents were Rabbi Mordechai Avrohom Yeshaya Groner and Menucha Rochel Groner.{{Cite web|url=https://collive.com/rabbi-yehuda-leib-groner-88-obm/|title=Rabbi Yehuda Leib Groner, 88, OBM|date=2020-04-08|website=COLlive|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-13}} His brother, Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, became the most senior Chabad rabbi in Melbourne, Australia, and the director of the Yeshivah Centre there.{{cite news |title=Australia's Chabad rabbi dies |url=https://www.jta.org/2008/07/07/default/australias-chabad-rabbi-dies |accessdate=13 April 2020 |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=7 July 2008}}{{cite news |title=Rabbi Yehudah Leib Groner, 88, Aided the Rebbe for More Than Four Decades |url=https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/4712126/jewish/Rabbi-Yehudah-Leib-Groner-88-Aided-the-Rebbe-for-More-Than-Four-Decades.htm |accessdate=13 April 2020 |publisher=Chabad.org |date=8 April 2020}} Groner was a direct descendant of Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founding Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch.
Groner studied at the Central Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where he excelled as a student. He often spoke with Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the future Lubavitcher Rebbe, and had an office in the building. Groner's connection to Schneerson began at Groner's bar mitzvah celebration, where Schneerson spoke for 1 hour and 20 minutes. In 1949, Schneerson asked Groner to join the team of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, working in the Kehot Publication Society, thus adding Groner to his secretariat.{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Chaim |title=Turning Judaism Outward |date=29 May 2014 |publisher=Kol Menachem |isbn=978-1934152362 |pages=196 |quote=Leibel studied in the Lubavitch school and Yeshiva system in New York from its earliest days, and in 1949 was asked by the Rebbe - then the Ramash - to assist with some of the work of preparing Kehot publications for print. When the Rebbe assumed the leadership of Chabad, he asked Groner to assist him at farbrengens. Groner gradually assumed the role, not only of a secretary, but also an assistant who cared for many of the Rebbe’s personal needs. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8MNBAAAQBAJ&q=leibel+groner&pg=PA196 |accessdate=13 April 2020}}
Secretary to the Lubavitcher Rebbe
In 1951, Schneerson succeeded his father-in-law as the seventh Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch. After Groner married in 1954, Schneerson asked him to become his personal assistant. On April 13, 1984, Schneerson referred to Groner as "my general." Groner controlled access to Schneerson,{{Cite news |last=Gonzalez |first=David |date=1994-03-12 |title='A Family in Stress' Over Its Stricken Rebbe; The Unspoken Question Among Lubavitchers: Who Is Going to Succeed Their Leader? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/12/nyregion/family-stress-over-its-stricken-rebbe-unspoken-question-among-lubavitchers-who.html |access-date=2024-02-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} and vied for power with Schneerson's chauffeur and spokesman, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky.{{Cite web |date=2015-03-20 |title=News Analysis: Rebbe's Funeral Offers Glimpse into Post-rebbe Lubavitch Movement |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/news-analysis-rebbes-funeral-offers-glimpse-into-post-rebbe-lubavitch-movement |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}} After Schneerson's death in 1994 he became a public speaker.{{cn|date=February 2024}}
Writing and teaching
Groner is a co-author, with Rabbi Volf Greenglass of Montreal, of Sefer HaMinhagim, the authoritative book describing Chabad-Lubavitch customs. He was also an editor of Otzar HaChasidim, the editorial group that publishes works on Chabad Hasidut. He taught at Beth Rivkah in Crown Heights, a school for girls who are part of the Chabad-Lubavitch community.
Political views
Groner was associated with a number of right-wing campaigns. In 2005 he was part of a delegation along with Menachem Brod who had a "heated debate" with Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, pleading with him to not give away land, something he believed the nation of Israel would soon regret.{{cite news |title=PM and Chabad Rabbis in a "Very Charged Meeting" |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/84840 |accessdate=13 April 2020 |work=Israel National News |date=29 June 2005}} He was also a strong figure in the Messianic sect of Chabad.{{cn|date=June 2023}}
Personal life
In 1954, Groner married Yehudis Gurewytz. The couple had three sons and four daughters. Their son Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Groner is the rabbi of Congregation Ohr HaTorah in Charlotte, North Carolina, while another son, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Groner, is a Rosh Yeshiva at the Chabad Yeshiva in Kiryat Gat, Israel.
Groner died on April 7, 2020, aged 88, after being infected with COVID-19 for several weeks.{{cite news |title=Veteran Confidante of Lubavitcher Rebbe Dies of Coronavirus |url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/04/08/veteran-confidante-of-lubavitcher-rebbe-dies-of-coronavirus/ |accessdate=8 April 2020 |publisher=Algemeiner Journal |date=8 April 2020}} Due to the ongoing pandemic, the funeral took place in a more muted fashion with social distancing procedures in place.{{cite news |last1=Stack |first1=Liam |title='Plague on a Biblical Scale': Hasidic Families Hit Hard by Virus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/nyregion/coronavirus-jews-hasidic-ny.html |accessdate=13 May 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=21 April 2020}} The Rabbinical Alliance of America released a statement mourning Groner as "one of the most prominent figures in Lubavitch of the last generation".{{cite web |title=Rabbinical Alliance of America Joins Klal Yisroel in Mourning the Passing of HaGaon HaRav Leibel Groner, ZT'L Faithful Secretary to the Lubavitcher Rebbe |date=8 April 2020 |url=https://rabbinicalalliance.org/2020/04/08/rabbinical-alliance-of-america-joins-klal-yisroel-in-mourning-the-passing-of-hagaon-harav-leibel-groner-ztl-faithful-secretary-to-the-lubavitcher-rebbe/ |publisher=Rabbinical Alliance of America |accessdate=13 April 2020}}
References
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Category:Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis
Category:American Hasidic rabbis
Category:20th-century American rabbis
Category:21st-century American rabbis
Category:Politicians from Brooklyn
Category:Writers from Brooklyn
Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)