I’m Dreaming of a Freilach Hannukah
For my a few of my articles related to Hannukah, check out www.beliefnet.com
Davenning at Borough Park’s Yoruba Shtiebel By Rabbi Daniel S. Brenner (Will appear in The Jewish Week on 1/16/04) This past Sunday morning I trekked through the foot of snow that recently visited the Big Apple to take an honorary seat on the bimah of the Christ Apostolic Church. This is one of Borough Park’s wonders – Housed in what once was a German Evangelical chapel is a church of Nigerian immigrants, whose service is mostly in the Yoruba dialect…
Turks and Jews in the Jersey Burbs By Daniel S. Brenner When I hear something awful, like the news that an 85-year-old grandmother and her 8-year-old granddaughter are murdered by a terrorist along with twenty-six others in a blast in Istanbul, I deal with my emotional turmoil by doing something mindless and useful – like raking leaves. I was raking the last leaves of autumn from my front yard in Montclair on Sunday morning, trying to take my mind off…
The Unexpected Return
Goyische Mazel for One Yiddische Kup By Rabbi Daniel S. Brenner In 5763 I worked in an office of orthodox rabbis who quoted Talmudic tractates and ate microwaved knishes. In 5764 I’ll be spending my days with Presbyterian ministers who quote John Calvin and eat cold shrimp salads. No, I haven’t found Jesus, or tasted shrimp, but after six years on the faculty of CLAL I’ve left to become the first rabbi to direct the Center for Multifaith Education at…
Here’s the Profile The Jewish Week Did on Me…
Fanfare for The Common Man (12/20/2001) Rabbi Daniel Brenner sanctifies the simple gifts of Judaism & America. Jonathan Mark – Associate Editor Did Reb Nachman, back in 18th century Europe, ever notice the sky was Tarheel Blue? Maybe not, but God always knew of North Carolina and that rebbes can come from the Piedmont as surely as from Poland. Rabbi Daniel Brenner, native son of Charlotte, N.C., is a storyteller, as surely from the Southern tradition as from the Jewish…
The Future of Foreskins By Daniel S. Brenner In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatricians issued a statement that decreed circumcision an elective surgery. Since then, the number of male babies undergoing circumcision has been in sharp decline. Many HMOs no longer cover the in-house hospital procedure, and the cut once done on 85% of males is now performed on less than half of American born boys. Many read this trend as a reflection of a growing social and environmental…