February 3, 2000

Rabbi Yisroel Miller, of the Poale Zedeck Congregation, in Pittsburg, will be honored at the Orthodox Union's (OU) Rabbinic Centennial Medallion Awards Dinner on Tuesday, February 29, 2000, in New York City.

The OU will honor Rabbi Miller as well as 11 other outstanding rabbis and their congregations who have made unique contributions to Orthodox Jewish life in America. Rabbi Yosef Grunblatt, spiritual leader of the Queens Jewish Center in Forest Hills, NY – who will also be honored at the dinner – will be the keynote speaker.

"Rabbi Miller is an impressive community and spiritual leader who has made an enormous contribution to Jewish life, " said Mandell I. Ganchrow, M.D., President of the OU.

A native Bostonian, Rabbi Miller studied at Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, NJ, where he also taught at the Beis Kaila High School for Girls. In addition, he was a founding member of the Pittsburgh Community Kollel. In 1985, Rabbi Miller founded the city's Orthodox chevra kadisha (burial society). He is currently the acting chairman of the Pittsburgh Vaad Horabbonim (organization of rabbis), a member of the steering committee of the United Jewish Federation's Jewish Unity Project and a member of the board of directors of Pittsburgh's Hillel Academy.

Recipient of the Pittsburgh United Jewish Federation's 1999 Rabbinic Leadership Award, Rabbi Miller has also served on the Pittsburgh Holocaust Memorial Committee, the Community Relations Committee of United Jewish Federation and was an officer of Pittsburgh's Jewish Family and Children's Service. He spoke at the inaugurations of Pittsburgh's mayor, Tom Murphy and the state's governor, Tom Ridge, served as scholar-in-residence at the Conference of Rabbis of the Provinces of Great Britain, has lectured in many communities in this country and abroad and is the author of four books: Guardian of Eden, What's Wrong with Being Human?, What's Wrong with Being Happy? And A Gift for Yom Tov.

"We cannot overemphasize the importance of rabbis, synagogues and communal institutions working in concert to insure a thriving Orthodoxy," said Rabbi Raphael B. Butler, Executive Vice President of the OU. "The Orthodox Union acknowledges the synagogue as the focus of Jewish communal life. Each community is built around a vibrant synagogue led by a dynamic rabbi. It is that leadership that we are proud to honor."

The honorees include: Rabbi Yosef Adler (Congregation Rinat Yisroel, Teaneck) Rabbi Moshe Bomzer (Congregation Beth Abraham Jacob, Albany); Rabbi Reuven Bulka (Congregation Machzikei Hadas, Ottawa); Rabbi Mark Dratch (Agudath Sholom, Stamford); Rabbi Joseph Grunblatt (Queens Jewish Center, Forest Hills); Rabbi Dr. Basil F. Herring (Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach); Rabbi Shaya Kilimnick (Beth Sholom, Rochester); Rabbi Zvulun (Sidney) Lieberman (Beth Torah Congregation, Brooklyn); Rabbi Adam Mintz (Lincoln Square Synagogue, New York); Rabbi Arthur Schneier (Park East Synagogue, New York); and Rabbi Harvey Well (Or Torah Congregation, Skokie).

For dinner reservations, please contact Steven Karp at (212) 613-8134.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of America and beyond, is the world leader in youth work, advocacy for the disabled, synagogue services, adult education and political action. Its kosher supervision label, the OU, is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 220,000 products in 62 countries around the globe.

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Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Department of Public Relations Sharyn Perlman, Director Main Office: 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Phone: 212-613-8321 Fax: 212-564-9058 E-mail: media@ou.org

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