LACONIA — Rabbi Dan Danson will begin a new chapter as the rabbi of Temple B’nai Israel, with an installation ceremony on Friday, Dec. 6.
Rabbi Danson grew up in Ottawa, Canada, and served the Jewish community of northern Wisconsin for 29 years at Mount Sinai Congregation in Wausau. After recently moving to Long Island, New York, Rabbi Danson said, “I am happy to be back among the ‘frozen chosen’ in New Hampshire.” He said he is particularly moved by the rich Jewish life that the congregation has established in the Lakes Region and their dedication to community service.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree with honors in Comparative Religion from Carleton University. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1988 at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Following ordination, as the rabbi of Mount Sinai Congregation in Wausau, Wisconsin, he wore many hats, including teaching Hebrew and Confirmation classes, leading adult education programs, and partnering with the congregation in many facets of synagogue organization. He also was active in the broader community in interfaith social justice work, as well as serving on many nonprofit boards and committees. He was a community member on two Institutional Review Boards, at the Marshfield Clinic and Aspirus Hospital, which oversaw the ethical aspects of medical research.
Rabbi Danson has served in many facets of the larger Jewish community. He is a past president of Midwest Association of Reform Rabbis, served on faculty at OSRUI, the URJ camp in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and was a vice-president of the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis.
Since he left Wisconsin, he has been training in Clinical Pastoral Education programs and is now a board-eligible chaplain. His last chaplaincy rotation was on the palliative care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. He is also completing a doctor of ministry degree in pastoral counseling at Hebrew Union College in New York.
He is married to Dr. Julie Luks and they have three children, Ben (Sasha), Eli, and Leah. They live in Huntington, New York.
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