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Author: Daniel Brenner

Music Review: Amythyst Kiah’s Wildebeest

Music Review: Amythyst Kiah’s Wildebeest

Some songs just stop you in your tracks. “Wildebeest” by Amythyst Kiah is one of those songs. The tune begins with a two chord progression usually heard in flamenco music – a simple and raw meditative riff that Kiah lets play for a minute for full hypnotic effect.  When the tune shifts into a Delta blues mode, the fine finger-picking starts to have an emotional life, setting the stage for Amythyst Kiah’s original yet traditional blues lyric of spurned love,…

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Was MLK Wrong About Non-Violence?

Was MLK Wrong About Non-Violence?

Fifty years ago, accepting the Nobel Prize for Peace, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a bold statement about non-violence. On that day in Stockholm, he argued that non-violence was not simply a protest tactic to overcome the oppression of his time but a new way for humans to exist together: “Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression…

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Free Hannukah Play – A skit for when the lights are lit

Free Hannukah Play – A skit for when the lights are lit

Free Hannukah Play? Get your presto-instant Hannukah skit right here: That’s right! A certified organic kosher Hannukah play for kids! 3 characters, five minutes. Just the right little shpiel for your celebration.   HANNUKAH PLAY By Rabbi Daniel Brenner www.rabbidanielbrenner.com ON STAGE: DR D, APPLE SAUCE, and LATKE   DR D   Hi, I’m Dr. Dreidel and I’m here with my friends Latkes and apple sauce to tell you all about the Maccabees.

Moses Becomes a Man

Moses Becomes a Man

  I’m putting finishing touches on Part 2 – but while I do so, Part 1 of my book for 8-12 year olds, MOSES BECOMES A MAN, about young Moses is ready for a trial spin for Kindle lovers.  Check it out here. 

Address to New York Theological Seminary: Answering the Cry in the Middle East

Address to New York Theological Seminary: Answering the Cry in the Middle East

        I begin this post with the above image of Jacob and Esau that I found on the web from the artist David Otto www.davidotto.com.  It captures, artistically, one of the questions that the ancient rabbis struggled with in the Midrash – namely, “is the competition between the brothers inherent?”   New York Theological Seminary October 29, 2014   Spiritual Lessons from Twins: Jacob and Esau as a Paradigm for Israel and Palestine  Seventeen years ago, when…

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