Marc D. Angel (born July 1945) is a Modern 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]
Rabbi Marc D. Angel | |
|---|---|
 Rabbi Angel speaking | |
| Personal | |
| Born | July 1945 |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Modern Orthodox Judaism (Open Orthodoxy) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Rabbi and author |
| Synagogue | Congregation Shearith Israel |
| Semikhah | RIETS |
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.