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Author: Daniel Brenner

A Very Kosher Christmas Poem

A Very Kosher Christmas Poem

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Jews on Christmas There isn’t enough soy sauce in the world to feed Jews on Christmas Huddled around steaming plates of dumplings Discussing cinematography Angioplasty Lactaid Who has lived and who has died Shocked to hear that the hot new Hollywood star is actually half-Jewish (and not arguing which half) I don’t see what all the fuss is about Nathan Englander. Yes, it’s like The Wire, but different, Costco is a mixed blessing, Do you trust Yelp? On our smartphones…

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Hannukah: A Minor Holiday

Hannukah: A Minor Holiday

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I wrote this song way back in 2009….which seems ages ago. I think there were still Macabees alive back then. I recorded it once at a house party (thank you Rafi and Jared and Noam for joining me on that version) but returning to the lyrics I felt that a jazzier setting would be more suitable. So…here goes my Hannukah song. Enjoy, and please share with your friends – who knows, maybe a lo-fi tune that doesn’t copy the latest catchy…

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Thoughts on Gaza

Thoughts on Gaza

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Thinking aloud: I am blessed with friends on the Right and on the Left. Nearly everything I see posted on Facebook tonight about the current IDF vs. Hamas situation is either saying a) “look at all the suffering that these murderers are causing” or b) “let’s just have peace/love each other” (and though I have an open and feeling heart and have learned to breath in and out slowly I am still  not sure what that really means when people…

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Who Has the Right to Pray at the Western Wall?

Who Has the Right to Pray at the Western Wall?

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I have a new piece published in the Huffington Post today about the recent arrest of Anat Hoffman at the Western Wall. The piece can be accessed here.  Who Has the Right to Pray at the Western Wall? Posted: 10/23/2012 5:50 pm After I posted an article on Facebook about Anat Hoffman, the Israeli woman arrested last week for praying in a tallit at the Western Wall, a friend and colleague, who happens to be an Orthodox rabbi, messaged me on Google chat…

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The Cry: A Poem for Rosh Hashanah

The Cry: A Poem for Rosh Hashanah

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The Cry “Heed the cry of the shofar!” the crowd reads in unison, the hum of the air conditioning system, the monotone reserved for special occasions, the hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses perched on the end of noses, the heavy prayer-books held at a slight angle. And when we turn the page, not so much in unison, and the cantor lifts the long, curly, brightly polished ram’s horn bought on a last trip to Jerusalem, We wait for it. A-roooooooooooo….

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Funny Bone Nightclub, 1993

Funny Bone Nightclub, 1993

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My One and Only Attempt at Stand-up Funny Bone Nightclub Philadelphia, PA 1993 Cleaning up the desk (so the kids can use it for “homework”) I found some old vhs transfers on our old laptop. This one is a classic bit of my past — the one and only time that I did stand-up — that is now, some twenty years later, ready to go up on the interwebs. I cringed in a few places watching this clip and I…

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Another Corny Rabbi

Another Corny Rabbi

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We Call it Maize At the beginning of the summer, when I finished putting in a raised bed garden, I decided to use some of the rugged property by the house to put in a pumpkin patch and a row of corn. Rains came and the garden grew. The pumpkin plant now covers three zip codes. And the corn is close to six feet tall. In August, I went down to Florida to celebrate my grandmother’s 100th birthday. At the…

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A Poem for Yom HaShoah

A Poem for Yom HaShoah

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For Helen The child of survivors spoke of the softness Breaking forth from the bark, Pushing its way from the cold comatose tree, How it sprung, green, then white, climaxing in stunning pinks and purples. As we carpooled to work she pointed to the trees that lined the road, “this is my floral escape tunnel,” she said, as she put her foot on the gas.