Marc D. Angel (born July 1945) is an Open Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, Rabbi ''emeritus'' of

Congregation Shearith Israel The Congregation Shearith Israel (), often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 2 West 70th Street, at Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, Unit ...

, the Spanish and Portuguese

Synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, a position he has held since 1969.

Biography

Born into

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

's Sephardic Jewish community, his ancestors are Ottoman Sephardim from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, and he grew up in a

Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * Judeo-Spanish language (ISO 639–3 lad), spoken by Sephardic Jews *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especially in Guatemala * Black ladinos, a ...

-speaking home. He received his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

, Ph.D.,

Th.D. Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor of ...

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'', and ''

semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

'' (rabbinical ordination) from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

; he also has an M.A. in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. He has received the

Bernard Revel Bernard (Dov) Revel (; September 17, 1885 – December 2, 1940) was an Orthodox rabbi and scholar. He served as the first President of Yeshiva College from 1915 until his death in 1940. The Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies at ...

Award in Religion and Religious Education. He was president of the

Rabbinical Council of America The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). ...

(RCA), and a member of the editorial board of its journal, ''

Tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

''. In 2007, he established the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. 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 Avraham Haim Yosef haCohen Weiss (; born June 24, 1944) is an American Open Orthodox ordained rabbi, author, teacher, lecturer, and activist who led the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in The Bronx, New York until 2015. He is the founder of Yeshi ...

co-founded the International Rabbinic Fellowship, the Open Orthodox rabbinic group, "to counter what they see as a rightward shift in the Orthodox community" 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 The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

: Translation and Commentary'' (

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

, 1988) * ''The Jews of Rhodes, The History of a Sephardic Community'' (New York, 1978) * ''La America: The Sephardic Experience in the United States'' (

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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) * ''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 Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, 2008) * ''

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

'' (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 Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

'', volumes 1 and 2, published by the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals (2010 and 2013)

Awards

* 1988:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

in the Jewish Thought category for ''The Orphaned Adult: Confronting the Death of a Parent''

Family

In a 2009 interview he stated that he and his wife Gilda Angel "have three children and six grandchildren".

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 A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

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. Hayyim Angel, Angel's son, is National Scholar of the institute.

References

External links

Institute for Jewish Ideas & IdealsCongregation Shearith Israel's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angel, Marc D. 1945 births 20th-century American rabbis 20th-century American Sephardic Jews 21st-century American rabbis 21st-century American Sephardic Jews American Modern Orthodox rabbis American people of Ottoman-Jewish descent City College of New York alumni Educators from Seattle Living people Open Orthodox Jews Orthodox rabbis from New York City Sephardi rabbis Yeshiva University alumni Writers from Seattle