Marc D. Angel

Rabbi
Marc D. Angel
Rabbi Marc D. Angel
	Rabbi Angel speaking
Personal
Born	July 1945; Seattle, Washington
Religion	Judaism
Nationality	American
Denomination	Modern Orthodox Judaism
Alma mater	Yeshiva University (B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Th.D., Semikhah); City College of New York (M.A.);
Occupation	Rabbi and author
Synagogue	Congregation Shearith Israel
Semikhah	RIETS

Marc D. Angel (born July 1945) is a Sephardi Orthodox rabbi and author, Rabbi emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in New York City, a position he has held since 1969.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Born into Seattle's Sephardic Jewish community, his ancestors are Ottoman Sephardim from Turkey and Rhodes, and he grew up in a Ladino-speaking home.^[1]

He received his B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Th.D. honoris causa, and semikhah (rabbinical ordination) from Yeshiva University; he also has an M.A. in English literature from the City College of New York. He has received the Bernard Revel Award in Religion and Religious Education.^[3] He was president of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA),^[4] and a member of the editorial board of its journal, Tradition.

In 2007, he established the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals.^{[citation needed]} He directs the Institute and edits its journal, Conversations, which appears three times per year and is a voice of Open Orthodoxy. In 2007, he and Rabbi Avi Weiss co-founded the International Rabbinic Fellowship,^[5] the Open Orthodox rabbinic group, "to counter what they see as a rightward shift in the Orthodox community"^[5] and reduce centralization of rabbinate authority, though they remained RCA members.

A prolific author, he has written several controversial books and articles that have taken issue with and challenged traditional Orthodox views and the Rabbinate.

Works

A Sephardic Haggadah: Translation and Commentary (Hoboken, New Jersey, 1988)
The Jews of Rhodes, The History of a Sephardic Community (New York, 1978)
La America: The Sephardic Experience in the United States (Philadelphia, 1982)
The Rhythms of Jewish Living: A Sephardic Approach (New York, 1986)
The Orphaned Adult: Confronting the Death of a Parent (1987)
Voices in Exile: A Study in Sephardic Intellectual History (1991)
The Essential Pele Yoetz: an Encyclopedia of Ethical Jewish Living (1991)
Loving Truth and Peace: The Grand Religious Worldview of Rabbi Benzion Uziel (1999)
Remnant of Israel: A Portrait of America's First Jewish Congregation (2004)
Losing the Rat Race, Winning at Life (2005)
Choosing to be Jewish: The Orthodox Road to Conversion (2005)^[6]
Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi: Gentle Scholar and Courageous Thinker (2006)
The Search Committee: A Novel (2008)
"Conversion to Judaism: Halakha, Hashkafa, and Historic Challenge", Hakirah, vol. 8 (Brooklyn, 2008)
Maimonides, Spinoza and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant Judaism (2009)
Maimonides: Essential Teachings on Jewish Faith and Ethics (2012)
Reclaiming Orthodox Judaism, a collection of essays, published as issue 12 of Conversations, the journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
Angel for Shabbat, volumes 1 and 2, published by the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals (2010 and 2013)

Awards

1988: National Jewish Book Award in the Jewish Thought category for The Orphaned Adult: Confronting the Death of a Parent^[7]

Family

In a 2009 interview he stated that he and his wife Gilda Angel^[6] "have three children and six grandchildren."^[1]

Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals

In October 2007, Angel founded the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals is a New York-based non-profit organization committed to advancing a culturally diverse and intellectually rational Jewish Orthodoxy. The Institute disseminates its particular vision through the publication of articles, and books as well as the hosting and promotion of lectures.^[8] Hayyim Angel, Angels's son, is National Scholar of the institute.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "A Strong Voice of the Sephardic Community". turkofamerica.com. 6 May 2017 [6 October 2009]. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
^ "Marc D. Angel (Congregation Shearith Israel)".
^ "Centennial Celebration with Angel". 5 February 2014.
^ "Sex tapes rock the Orthodox". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Rosenblatt, Gary (2 May 2008). "Taking On The RCA?". The New York Jewish Week. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Marc Angel (2005). Choosing to be Jewish: the Orthodox Road to Conversion. KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 978-0881-25890-5. I thank my wife , Gilda , and our son , Rabbi Hayyim Angel
^ "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
^ Lagnado, Caroline (3 March 2015). "For Jews, an odyssey out of the frying pan and into America's melting pot". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 6 March 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2020.