Rabbi Daniel Greer

Rabbi Daniel Greer: The Work of a City Commission Government

Rabbi Daniel Greer grew up in New York. After completing his undergraduate and law degrees at Princeton University and Yale Law School respectively, he joined the New York City government, working as in the Department of Investigations as a deputy commissioner. After a few years, he would rise to the rank of First Deputy Commissioner in the department of Ports and Terminals.

A New York City Commissioner, like the position Greer held, is an appointed position. Rabbi Daniel Greer was appointed to his post by Mayor John V. Lindsay and served directly under Commissioner Pat Crossman.

During Rabbi Daniel Greer’s tenure as New York City’s First Deputy Commissioner of Ports and Terminals from 1968-1971, Daniel Greer is credited with inaugurating the concept of repurposing abandoned piers in Manhattan. At that time there was a significant revolution in shipping and in the way mercantile goods were transported. Traditionally, products were transported in creates on freight ships, unloaded at the piers by longshoremen, and transferred to storage buildings at the piers. There the packages and crates awaited the trucks, which would carry the goods to a final destination. In the late sixties, there was a near universal move to container ships.

An unintended consequence was the demise of the utility of Manhattan piers. Manhattan lacks contiguous open land space adjacent to its piers to store large numbers of containers, and could not compete with other major harbors.

First Deputy Commissioner Greer came up with a novel solution. He developed one pier as a test case. Rabbi Daniel Greer selected Pier 18 I West Village, and built a park right on the pier, with planters, benches, and roller-skating space.

Rabbi Daniel Greer is the founder of Yeshiva of New Haven.

Rabbi Daniel Greer - Community Leaders Should Embody These Qualities

As Rabbi Daniel Greer has come to understand, leadership cuts across a variety of disciplines. He has aimed to place priority on both the needs of his synagogue and those of the larger community.

Rabbi Daniel Greer’s community experience comes from when he served as First Deputy Commissioner of Ports and Terminals in the Lindsay Administration in New York City. Taking his concern for community and fine aesthetic sense, he has been instrumental in restoring more than fifty houses in the Edgewood Park neighborhood of New Haven. Working with volunteer architects and designers, the revitalized homes all sport a thematic color scheme which blends quietly into the area. Rabbi Daniel Greer’s restoration work has twice won acclaim from the New Haven Preservation Society. Greer was quoted as saying: “It is a great privilege to collaborate with the many craftsmen who devote hours of careful work to restoration. Many times, vintage woods have to be reproduced, and intricate original plaster designs copied. Yeshiva is honored to have a part in these projects.” The restored houses offer very fine living units for people who choose to live in the Edgewood area of New Haven, which is but a mile and a quarter west of the Yale campus.

While there are many organizations which sponsor restoration work, most especially on the East Coast, it is not every Yeshiva which has the opportunity to be so involved. Part of Rabbi Daniel Geer’s rabbinic mission, as he sees it, is to educate the Yeshiva about the issues involving the local community and the potential opportunities which exist for the Yeshiva to be of significant assistance.

Rabbi Daniel Greer - The Importance of Volunteering

For much of his life as a Jewish religious leader, Rabbi Daniel Greer has been a symbol of hope and faith to the community. Since establishing the Yeshiva of New Haven, he’s volunteered to restore the Edgewood community, mainly through home renovations, tree planting and other initiatives meant to develop the neighborhood. To him, being a rabbi does not hinder him from participating in community work.

While modern lifestyles present challenges in volunteer work, the benefits of volunteering are immense. It is an undoubted way of interacting with the society while learning a thing or two. Research has indicated that volunteering can help in improving both physical and mental health, and can help young people find their calling in life.

Why you need to volunteer

The impact of voluntary work in a community is incredible. It allows people to connect effectively in a community, thus improving coexistence. The benefits spread beyond you to impact your family and community at large. You have a chance to make new friends as you expand your social circle.

Volunteering helps to calm the mind and body. Putting other people’s needs first can be a way of dealing with the negative effects of stress and anxiety. It is a profound way of instilling purpose and self-confidence, and many young people have found it to be a means of finding out their strengths.

To Rabbi Daniel Greer, volunteer work has helped him become a champion for humanitarian causes. The tree planting initiative he started more than two decades ago has helped make Edgewood Park neighborhood a stable, leafy and scenic place to reside.

Rabbi Daniel Greer - The Essentials of Spiritual Leadership

When the word leadership comes to mind, many people picture an employer keeping a close eye on his employees or a military leader giving out orders to his juniors. As Rabbi Daniel Greer knows, these explain some aspects of leadership, they don’t fully capture what spiritual leadership is.

leadership is actually the opposite of the examples provided. The leader does the tasks that others would not do. Spiritual leadership is no different. The most mundane tasks are assumed by the head of any organization, and one often knows who is in charge—by who is working hardest. When the person in charge supplies the energy and willingness to get things done, others follow suit.

Lack of pretension is a great attitude for a spiritual leader, as is the desire to do what one can to improve a situation. Seeing the potential in people and encouraging another’s best efforts, are elements of wholehearted service.

Integrity is also core to spiritual leadership. People follow those they respect, and you earn this respect by being a man of integrity. Being honest and trustworthy are some of the qualities that instill integrity in you.

Rabbi Daniel Greer is the founder of Yeshiva of New Haven, where’s he been a mentor and guide to the people for over two decades.