Rabbi’s Discussion

Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is a descendant of Polish rabbis and has been the spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Greater Kansas City since its founding in 2011.

He earned a bachelor of arts in psychology and a master’s degree in Hebrew letters, and was ordained in 1994 at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Rabbi Cukierkorn has written many books about Judaism in several languages. He is recognized worldwide as an expert on Crypto-Jews, having written his rabbinical thesis on the subject.

Rabbi Cukierkorn is the founder of Brit Braja Worldwide Jewish Outreach, an organization that pioneered Internet-based long-distance Jewish worship, studies and conversion training. Its focus is on creating new Jewish communities, mostly in Latin America.

Rabbi Cukierkorn and his wife, Denisse, a school psychologist, live in Overland Park, Kansas and have two adult daughters.