Chairman of the Board, Co-Founder

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Rabbi Menachem Penner is the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Kesher Families. Rabbi Penner and his wife speak widely about their experience with the goal of educating and sensitizing the Orthodox world to the realities of families like theirs. He was interviewed on a groundbreaking 18Forty podcast with his son, Gedalia, where they discussed the challenges they faced together following Gedalia’s coming out at age 15. Rabbi and Rebbetzin Penner conduct individual sessions for Kesher’s families, providing support in a warm and empathetic environment.

 

Rabbi Penner is the Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of America and the Dean Emeritus of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, ​where he himself received semicha. Rabbi Penner served as the spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Holliswood in Queens for 20 years. Rabbi Penner is seen as a resource for synagogues and other rabbis across the United States and is a much sought-after lecturer in communities worldwide.