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Meyer Kramer, 96, Northeast Phila. rabbi

Meyer Kramer, 96, a rabbi for decades in Northeast Philadelphia who was known for reaching out to everyone, died at a Brooklyn, N.Y., nursing home Wednesday, June 24, after nearly a decade battling dementia.

Meyer Kramer
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Meyer Kramer, 96, a rabbi for decades in Northeast Philadelphia who was known for reaching out to everyone, died at a Brooklyn, N.Y., nursing home Wednesday, June 24, after nearly a decade battling dementia.

"He was a lover of peace who pursued peace," said his son Doniel Kramer. Kramer remembers how his father interacted closely with area congregations of other faiths.

Rabbi Kramer, known as "Mike," received "tremendous respect" from other religious leaders and was very well-known in the Jewish community, his son said.

Rabbi Kramer was born in Russia and grew up in Centerville, Iowa. He moved to New York City to attend Yeshiva University, where he completed rabbinical school in 1941, before graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1944.

As a rabbi, he served Adath Zion, a traditional congregation, from 1951 to 1967, Beth Tefilath Israel from 1967 to 1972, and Bustleton-Somerton Synagogue from 1972 to 1975.

Doniel Kramer still remembers his father's "tremendous book collection." When a deceased rabbi's library went up for auction in the 1950s, Rabbi Kramer bid and was shocked when he won. Doniel Kramer can still visualize his father driving up to the synagogue in a flatbed truck piled with texts. His family donated almost 1,500 volumes of rabbinical works and academic titles from that auction to Touro College Libraries.

In addition to practicing law, the rabbi also served as a legal consultant and in various editorial positions, including at the American Law Institute – American Bar Association. He also taught legal writing in the Univ. of PA Law School.

From 1966 to 1968, Rabbi Kramer was president of Rabbinical Council of Greater Philadelphia. He continued to serve on the body in the early 1990s.

Rabbi Kramer is survived by his son; daughters Rena, Tamar, and Shira; 14 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

After services in Brooklyn on Thursday, June 25, he was buried at Mount Sharon Cemetery in Springfield, Delaware County.