I met Juan Miguel Avila in 1987 because he had a T- shirt that said “I learned how to play guitar in just five minutes!” We were college students looking for extra beer money so we started playing on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin for loose change. I’d sing about my love of various Wisconsin cheeses and he’d play flamenco style behind me and we’d rake in twenty bucks in quarters and dimes. We loved playing the streets and the…
Hello, rabbis of the commonwealth. If you are one of the fine rabbis of the State of Massachusetts then I hope that you will join me next week in Newton! Here are the details.
The fact that Drake is Jewish is only part of the reason that he released what has now been dubbed a controversial “re-bar mitzvah” video. Or at least that is what I argue in my latest scribble for Huffington Post. The commentary was also featured in Vibe Magazine….that’s right, ye olde reb blog is redefining hip hop! Here’s the video for those that missed it…
This week I was in Chicago (O.K. truth be told, Suburban Chicago) at the iCenter www.icenter.org to visit their “ideas incubator.” This is a forum where educators from every sector – camp, day school, Federation, JCC sports, synagogue life – learn from one another and from outside folks who focus on a particular issue in education. Great idea and great execution – and their well-designed website is worth a visit.
I had the wonderful pleasure of joining Lettie Teague, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal’s On Wine, for a pre- Passover tasting. Here’s an except from the piece and a link to the article: The 2010 Domaine Netofa ($20) from Galilee, a Rhône-style blend of Syrah and Mourvèdre, had lots of lush dark-berry fruit and spicy aromatic notes. Rabbi Brenner took note of the rabbinical seal on the back label. The wine had been approved by the Jerusalem High…
My friend Jenna, who is a grad student in religious studies at UNC, posted a photo of a Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea communion from the Kairos Church in response to the murder of Trayvon Martin. (see above) I loved the sentiment, and this got me thinking about what we might do in the Jewish community to mark the latest tragic display of injustice and disregard for human life as we remember our time of enslavement in Egypt. (According to…
Not sure how or why I wrote this song, but I started with the line “Tried to friend you on Facebook” and the rest kind of poured out. Thanks to my friend and neighbor Ben Weiss, who liked the “hashtag sigh” line and encouraged me to write a few more verses and to my friend Richard Stern who liked it when I said “cellular phone.” You guys inspire me – I hope you like the results.
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.
Thanks to the editors over at the Huffington Post, my latest piece on contraception is up in the blogosphere. You can check it out here.
Posting my February 23rd address to the faculty and staff of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. To listen click here. Gender Trouble: What We Are Teaching Boys About Being Men and Why It Matters Rabbi Daniel S. Brenner Address to Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion February 23, 2012 First of all, I want to thank Rabbi Shirley Idelson for extending the invitation to be with you today and to thank…