July 22, 2006 / Perspective / The Brooklyn Angle

Super Rabbi!

By Gersh Kuntzman

The Brooklyn Paper

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Another major civil rights barrier will fall this week when a Brooklyn man becomes the first Hasidic rabbi to ever address the nation’s largest comic book convention.

OK, as civil rights triumphs go, Rabbi Simcha Weinstein’s appearance at this weekend’s “Comic Con” in San Diego isn’t exactly Rosa Parks refusing to move to the back of the bus, but Weinstein believes it will make history nonetheless.

“This is big for a rabbi,” he said.

Parks, of course, was freeing her people from oppression and segregation, while Weinstein will be merely hawking his book, “Up, Up and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture, and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero.”

But these two civil rights pioneers do share a spiritual underpinning that spans the generations.

“So much is from the Bible, whether conscious or subconscious,” said Weinstein, referring to the creation of the original superhero Pantheon.

“Superman compared himself to Samson. And the Incredible Hulk is right out of the Golem story.”

Full disclosure: I’m not a religious man. In fact, I think God is as much a figment of human imagination as Superman and Batman — and responsible for a heck of a lot more human misery.

Weinstein may be a Hasidic rabbi, but he has an easy charm and anti-dogmatic style that bridges the gap between him, a man of the cloth, and me, a man of dirty underwear.

Weinstein’s forum — The Jewish Side of Comics — will address the hidden hand of Jewish comic book artists and historic figures in the creation of today’s most-popular graphic icons.

Experts in the cliquish, fluorescent-lit comic book world predict Weinstein will experience great nachas from the attendees of the massive, three-day Comic Con.

“They’re going to love him,” said forum organizer Steve Berkson.

Weinstein, a rabbi at Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill, thinks he knows why: “I’m going to be received with open arms by the geeks and the nerds because I’m the rabbi to the geeks and nerds.”

How big is Weinstein’s appearance at Comic Con?

Consider this: Other big stars in attendence include Samuel L. Jackson (you know, Mace Windu from “Star Wars Episode III — Revenge of the Sith”), sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury, and Walter Koenig (and if you don’t know who he is, there’s no way you read this far in the article anyway).