Daniel Greer

Who is Daniel Greer?

Rabbi Daniel Greer is the founder of the Yeshiva of New Haven and a one time candidate for the Democratic nomination for a New York State Assembly District. He was the father of Batsheba Greer, the lead plaintiff in case of the Yale Five.

Greer was born in New York City to Moses and Angele Greer. Angele was a native of Egypt and a graduate of the University of Paris. Moses was a graduate of City College of New York and a wholesale wool resaler. His parents were both Modern Orthodox Jews and Greer grew-up attending day school. He went to high school at the Manhattan Talmudical Academy.

Greer attended college at Princeton University where for his first two years he would eat alone in his room so he could have kosher food. He spent his junior year studying at Hebrew University of Jerusalem after which he switched from being a biology to being a near eastern studies major. After graduating from Princeton Greer spent a year studying talmud and related subjects under Joseph Soloveitchik.

Greer then entered Yale Law School where he was roommates with Jerry Brown. Other members of his Yale Law class included Gary Hart and Michael Horowitz.