Men and Mikvah
The blog of Boston’s community Mikveh is cleverly titled “The Mikveh Lady Has Left The Building.” A little piece I wrote, titled “Three Dips Before the Wedding: Men and Mikveh” is currently running here.
Will Men Stand Up Against the Sex Slave Trade?
Right underneath a giant football (hey, it is singing day after all) the Huffington Post Religion section has published a piece I penned on the efforts to curb the sex trade in Israel. Thank you to the editors (Paul especially) for drawing attention to this issue.
Cowboys and Momma’s Boys
My latest rant on football culture and parshat toldot is now running on the front page of New Jersey Jewish News (thanks again Andrew!) I reflect on the atrocities that occurred in connection to the Penn State football program and the wider culture that values loyalty and competition above all.
Ten Years Ago: 9/11, Corned Beef Sandwiches and the Red Cross
I wrote this piece a week after 9/11. Hard to believe that we are approaching the tenth anniversary. But it has, indeed, been a decade — My daughter, born in January of 2001, is now a fifth grader. The day still haunts me, this city, and beyond. My heart is with all the families who are headed to memorials this week. Even in Tragedy, A Little Humor By Rabbi Daniel S. Brenner On the Thursday after the attacks, I went…
Ultimate Frisbee
The Telegraphic Agency just published my latest piece about my work. Click here to find out more 🙂
Steve Nash, Arizona, and Immigrant History
Steve Nash has always been one of my favorite NBA stars. His brilliant passing, his hustle, his ability to slash through defenders, draw a triple-team and dish back for a teammate to score are all commendable. And I once read in the New York Times Sunday Mag that he has a rug made of used shoelaces. As his Phoenix Suns have recently taken a stand against the Arizona Immigration law, I was looking through my files to find some of…
Future of Foreskins
In 2011, I was interviewed by the Jerusalem Post about the topic of brit milah, Jewish ritual circumcision. That piece referenced an earlier piece I wrote for CLAL about my personal experience of performing the mitzvah of brit milah when my sons were born in 1998 (that piece is no longer on CLAL’s site but is available in the Berman Archive of Stanford University) Since my writing on this topic 25 years ago there has been extensive medical research on…
Shabbat
a reconstructionist approach Over a hundred years ago the spiritual leader of Ger, Poland taught that: “The sabbath completes each thing; it is the fulfillment of all, for it is the root of all life…that is why sabbath is called “rest,” because it returns each thing to its root…All week long we should look forward to this returning to our root and the place of our rest for this is where we truly live.” I was lucky to have something…
Heschel and the Dalai Lama
My latest article appears in today’s Jewish Week (10/07/2005)The Dalai Lama Traces Heschel’s FootstepsDaniel S. BrennerAs Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman, the rabbi who leads the Kol Haneshama community in Jerusalem, spoke from the lectern, I watched Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, as he clasped his hands in meditation and cracked a quiet smile. Sitting a few pews back in the interfaith service at the Upper West Side’s Riverside Church, I could see how Swami Agnivesh ties his turban, how Geshe…
Global Poverty reflections by Rabbi Daniel Brenner
Helping The World’s Poorest Billion PeopleDaniel S. BrennerThe Talmud teaches that if you see someone drowning in a river, and if you can swim, then you are obligated to jump in and save the person in danger. So considering the fact that a billion people are drowning in a river and you have the opportunity to save them — without even getting wet — why aren’t you throwing a life preserver? This is not a hypothetical question. Last week, sitting…