Menachem Penner
{{Short description|American rabbi}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix =
| caption =
| yeshivaposition = Dean
| yeshiva = Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
| children =
| predecessor = Yona Reiss
| semicha = Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
| honorific-suffix =
| title =
| image =
| organisation =
| buried =
| organisationposition =
| birth_date = 1969
| name = Menachem Penner
| nationality = American
| denomination = Modern Orthodox
| residence =
| alma_mater = Yeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshiva University
| synagogue = Young Israel of Holliswood, Queens
| synagogueposition = Rabbi Emeritus
| began = July 1, 2013
| ended = December 21, 2023
}}
Menachem (Marc) Penner (Hebrew: מנחם פעננער; born 1971) is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi and executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA).{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-01-04 |title=TABC Parents and Students Join for Yom Iyun |url=https://jewishlink.news/tabc-parents-and-students-join-for-yom-iyun/ |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=The Jewish Link |language=en}} He formerly served as the Max and Marion Grill Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University{{Cite web|title=Senior Leadership {{!}} Yeshiva University|url=https://www.yu.edu/president/senior-leadership|access-date=2022-01-20|website=www.yu.edu}} and Dean of Men's Undergraduate Torah Studies Program at Yeshiva University.{{Cite web|title=Etzion Education and Leadership Conference {{!}} Yeshivat Har Etzion|url=https://www.etzion.org.il/en/series/etzion-education-and-leadership-conference|access-date=2022-01-20|website=www.etzion.org.il}} Penner is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Holliswood.{{Cite web|title=Menachem Penner {{!}} Yeshiva University|url=https://www.yu.edu/faculty/pages/penner-menachem|access-date=2022-01-20|website=www.yu.edu}}
Education
Following high-school, Penner attended Yeshivat Har Etzion in 1988, then headed by Aharon Lichtenstein and Yehuda Amital. He graduated from Yeshiva College in 1991 and received Semicha from RIETS in 1994.{{Cite web|last=Bettencourt|first=Michael|date=2017-07-05|title=YU in Israel: A Whirlwind of Action|url=https://blogs.yu.edu/news/yu-in-israel-a-whirlwind-of-action/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Yeshiva University News|language=en-US}}
Career
Penner served as the spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Holliswood in Queens for 20 years, a position he was elected to in 1996. He is now the Rabbi Emeritus. He continues to teach, focusing on Tanach, Tefillah and Machshavah in Queens and in communities worldwide.{{Cite web|title=YUTorah Online – Rabbi Menachem Penner|url=https://www.yutorah.org/rabbi-menachem-penner/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=www.yutorah.org|date=4 October 2021 }}
In 2013, Penner was elected Max and Marion Grill Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He succeeded Yona Reiss and began his deanship on July 1, 2013.{{Cite web|date=2013-03-11|title=Rabbi Yona Reiss to Leave Deanship, Assume Rosh Yeshiva Position|url=https://yucommentator.org/2013/03/rabbi-yona-reiss-to-leave-deanship-assume-rosh-yeshiva-position/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=The Commentator}} In December 2023 it was announced that Rabbi Penner would be leaving RIETS and beginning a new position as vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-22 |title=Rabbi Penner Leaving as Dean of RIETS, Set to Join the RCA; Sources say Committee of Roshei Yeshiva to Govern RIETS |url=https://yucommentator.org/2023/12/penner-leaving-as-dean-of-riets-set-to-join-the-rca-sources-say-committee-of-roshei-yeshiva-to-govern-riets/ |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=The Commentator}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-20 |title=Yeshiva University Congratulates Rabbi Menachem Penner on His New Appointment |url=https://www.yu.edu/news/2023/12/21/yeshiva-university-congratulates-rabbi-menachem-penner-his-new-appointment |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=Yeshiva University |language=en}}
Personal
Penner is the parent of an individual with special needs. He speaks across the United States on issues of families facing disabilities.{{Cite web|title=Rabbi Menachem Penner {{!}} Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston|url=https://www.cjp.org/streams/speaker-bios/rabbi-menachem-penner|access-date=2022-01-20|website=www.cjp.org|language=en-US}} Penner also has a son who is a member of the LGBTQ community.{{Cite web|title=Menachem Penner & Gedalia Robinson: A Child's Orientation|url=https://18forty.org/podcast/menachem-penner-gedalia-robinson-a-childs-orientation/|access-date=2022-01-20|website=18Forty|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Maryles|first=Harry|date=2021-03-24|title=Emes Ve-Emunah: Loving a Gay Child in the World of Orthodox Judaism|url=http://haemtza.blogspot.com/2021/03/loving-gay-child-in-world-of-orthodox.html|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Emes Ve-Emunah}}
References
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penner, Menachem}}
Category:American Modern Orthodox rabbis
Category:21st-century American rabbis
Category:Yeshiva University alumni
Category:Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients