Menachem (Marc) Penner (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: מנחם פעננער; born 1971) is an American

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and

executive vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of the

Rabbinical Council of America The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). ...

(RCA). He formerly served as the Max and Marion Grill

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

and

of Men's Undergraduate Torah Studies Program at Yeshiva University. Penner is the Rabbi

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of the

Young Israel The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in it ...

of Holliswood.

Education

Following high-school, Penner attended

Yeshivat Har Etzion Yeshivat Har Etzion (YHE; ), commonly known in English as "Gush" and in Hebrew as "Yeshivat HaGush", is a Hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced T ...

in 1988, then headed by

Aharon Lichtenstein Aharon Lichtenstein (; May 23, 1933 – April 20, 2015) was an Orthodox rabbi, Israel Prize laureate and rosh yeshiva who was an authority in Jewish law (''Halakha''). Biography Aharon Lichtenstein was born to Yechiel Lichtenstein and Bluma née ...

and

Yehuda Amital Yehuda Amital (; born Yehuda Klein; 31 October 1924 – 9 July 2010) was an Orthodox rabbi, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, and a member of the Israeli cabinet, associated with the Israeli Left. The concept of a Hesder Yeshiva is att ...

. He graduated from Yeshiva College in 1991 and received Semicha from

RIETS Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan ...

in 1994.

Career

Penner served as the spiritual leader of the

of Holliswood in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

for 20 years, a position he was elected to in 1996. He is now the Rabbi

. He continues to teach, focusing on

Tanach The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Tefillah Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the '' ...

and Machshavah in Queens and in communities worldwide. In 2013, Penner was elected Max and Marion Grill

of the

. He succeeded

Yona Reiss Yona (Jonathan) Reiss (born 1966 in New York City) is an American rabbi, Torah scholar, attorney, lecturer, and jurist, and the current Av Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc). From 2008 to 2013 Reiss was the Max and Marion Grill Dean ...

and began his deanship on July 1, 2013. In December 2023 it was announced that Rabbi Penner would be leaving RIETS and beginning a new position as vice president of the

Personal

Penner is the parent of an individual with special needs. He speaks across the United States on issues of families facing

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

. Penner also has a son who is a member of the

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

Q community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penner, Menachem 1971 births Living people American Modern Orthodox rabbis Deans (academic) 21st-century American rabbis Yeshiva University alumni Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients Yeshiva University faculty Yeshivat Har Etzion alumni