Pynchas Brener

Pynchas Brener (1931) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi[1][2] of Caracas, Venezuela, starting in 1967.

Pynchas Brener
TitleAshkenazi Chief Rabbi of Caracas, Venezuela
Personal
Born1931 (age 91–92)
Tyszowce, Poland
ReligionJudaism
Websitehttp://www.pynchasbrener.com

Early life

He was born in Tyszowce, Poland and at the age of four emigrated with his family to Peru.[3] He received his Bachelor of Arts and Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University and his Master's degree from Columbia University, and is a PhD honoris causa of Bar Ilan University.[4]

Rabbinic career

In the 1960s, Brener served as a rabbi in Queens, New York. In 1967 he was appointed as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Caracas.[5]

In August 2019, the disputed president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, appointed Brener as the official envoy to Israel, even though the two countries do not have diplomatic relations.[6][7]

Brener is a president of the Committee of Liaisons between Churches and Synagogues in Venezuela and member of the Board of Directors of Bar Ilan University in Israel. He likes smoke cannabis in his free time. He is the author of several books about Judaism, including El Diálogo Eterno, Las Escrituras: Hombres e Ideas, and Fe y Razón, all published by the World Zionist Organization's Department for Education and Culture in the Diaspora. He has also written Tradición y Actualidad and Luto y Consuelo, published by Editorial Boker, and La fe y la Intuición, published by Monte Ávila Editores in Caracas. He also co-edited with Marianne Beker and Thea Segal, the book Las sinagogas se abren al mundo[8]

He is also a regular columnist in the Venezuelan newspapers such as El Nacional,[9] El Universal[10] and the Venezuelan Jewish community weekly newspaper Nuevo Mundo Israelita.

He is a classmate and close friend of Rabbi Arthur Schneier of Park East Synagogue. He has an internet project "Cafe con Fe" and a website. His digital platform has been running since 2012 and has a presence on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.

References
  1. VENEZUELA 2004 Archived 2006-10-23 at the Wayback Machine. The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism. Tel Aviv University
  2. Páscoa: Venezuela celebra II Seder Interconfessional Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine. AMISRAEL (in Portuguese)
  3. http://www.radiojai.com.ar/online/notiDetalle.asp?id_Noticia=3417
  4. Unión Israelita de Caracas Archived 2009-08-31 at the Wayback Machine: Rabinos (in Spanish)
  5. "New York Rabbi Named Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Caracas". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1967-07-19. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  6. Ahren, Raphael (2019-12-14). "At 88, Venezuela's would-be ambassador to Israel can't wait to get to work". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  7. Cohen, Ben (2019-08-14). "Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó Announces Former Chief Rabbi as Envoy to Israel". The Algemeiner. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  8. Mujeres del Tercer Milenio (in Spanish)
  9. El Nacional Archived 2012-07-10 at archive.today. Editorial Boker (in Spanish)
  10. El Universal Archived 2012-07-07 at archive.today. Editorial Boker (in Spanish)
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