Rabbi Marc D. Angel

Rabbi Marc D. Angel, receiving his award from the Sephardic Brotherhood of America. He is pictured with Mr. Albert Maimon, who received the same honor in 2021. Image from the Sephardic Brotherhood of America.

Rabbi Marc D. Angel is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. He’s a well-respected Rabbi, community leader, Sephardic educator, and author. He was honored at the International Sephardic Community Gala on December 17, 2023. 

Here are some parts of Rabbi Angel’s speech on that occasion:

“…Tonight, I express my gratitude to parents, grandparents, relatives, and friends who peopled the beautiful Sephardic family and community of my youth in Seattle. My grandparents Angel came to Seattle from Rhodes, my grandparents Romey came from Turkey…all in the early years of the 20th century. I was named after my maternal grandfather Marco (Mordechai) Romey.

I find keys to my life in the family and community in which I was raised. My Papoo Romey was a special influence on me. He was a barber, far from affluent, with no formal education. But he was a remarkable man. Every Friday night, after Shabbat dinner, he would sit at a card table near a window overlooking his back yard; and he would study the Torah portion of the week, as he sipped on a piping hot glass of tea with four teaspoons of sugar. He loved Torah; his faith in God was a mainstay of his life.

…The past is a good place to search for keys. But the present is very important if we know where to look. When we see family and friends devoted to Torah and mitzvoth, we fill with joy and gratitude. When we see our Jewish faith and traditions live proudly and happily, we know that the keys of Judaism are in good hands. When I left the pulpit rabbinate 16 years ago, after a wonderful tenure in a historic congregation, I established the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Our creed has been to foster an intellectually vibrant, compassionate, and inclusive Orthodox Judaism…much in the spirit of the Sephardic tradition. I have found many keys among devoted, idealistic, and faithful Jews trying to build a better future for our people and for society at large. My son, Rabbi Hayyim Angel, is the National Scholar of our Institute.

But when we search for keys, we also need to look into the future. Our Sephardic ancestors have bequeathed to us a tradition of faith, fortitude, optimism, and joy. What will this tradition mean to our descendants 100 years from now, a time of post-ethnic Jewish peoplehood? That question is key to how we live our lives today.

We want our future generations to live strong, happy, beautiful Jewish lives. We want the Sephardic component of their lives to bring them inner poise, confidence, wisdom. The keys we bequeath to them are determined by us here and now. This is an awesome privilege and challenge…”

For more info, please visit Rabbi Angel’s website and Facebook page

Learn more about the International Sephardic Community Gala 

Article Source: Looking Back, Thinking Ahead by Rabbi Marc D. Angel