Pynchas Brener (born 1931) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, starting in 1967.

Early life

He was born in

Tyszowce Tyszowce (; ) is a town in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, with 2,091 inhabitants (2019). In 1655 the Tyszowce Confederation was formed here. History The history of Tyszowce dates back to the Middle Ages, ...

, Poland and at the age of four emigrated with his family to Peru. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Rabbinic Ordination from

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

and his Master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and is a PhD ''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'' of

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

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. In August 2019, the disputed president of

Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician and opposition figure. He belonged to the social-democratic party Popular Will, and was a federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of V ...

, appointed Brener as the official envoy to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, even though the two countries do not have diplomatic relations. Brener is a president of the Committee of Liaisons between Churches and Synagogues in Venezuela and member of the Board of Directors of

in Israel. He is the author of several books about

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, including ''El Diálogo Eterno'', ''Las Escrituras: Hombres e Ideas'', and ''Fe y Razón'', all published by the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

'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'' He is also a regular columnist in the Venezuelan newspapers such as '' El Nacional'', '' El Universal''El Universal
. Editorial Boker and the Venezuelan Jewish community weekly newspaper '' Nuevo Mundo Israelita''. He is a classmate and close friend of Rabbi

Arthur Schneier Arthur Schneier (born March 20, 1930) is an Austrian American rabbi and human rights activist. Rabbi Schneier has served for over 50 years as the Senior Rabbi of New York City’s Park East Synagogue. While being honored with the Presidential Citi ...

Park East Synagogue The Park East Synagogue is a Modern Orthodox Judaism, Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue for Congregation Zichron Ephraim at 163 East 67th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York (state), New York, United States. Built ...

. 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brener, Pynchas 1931 births 20th-century Polish Jews Ashkenazi rabbis Jewish Polish writers Living people People from Caracas Polish Ashkenazi Jews Polish emigrants to Venezuela Venezuelan Ashkenazi Jews Venezuelan rabbis Venezuelan people of Polish-Jewish descent