Rabbi Mark Raphael was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1981. He has a B.A. from Clark University, M.A.s in Jewish Education & Jewish Studies from JTS, and an D.D. honoris causa from JTS. He served congregations in Windsor, Ct, Binghamton, NY, and Gaithersburg, MD (Kehilat Shalom - where he is the rabbi emeritus). He is a past chair of: Baltimore-Washington Rabbinical Assembly, Gaithersburg Clergy Association, Community Ministries of Montgomery County (now Interfaith Works) and Action in Montgomery (AIM). He retired from congregation rabbinic leadership in 2012 and worked part-time as a hospital chaplain until 2021. He has been a member of Shaare Torah since 2012 and served as its “emergency” rabbi from March 2020 until July 2021. He lives in Gaithersburg with his wife Diane and regularly sees his son Tali who works at the Library of Congress (and soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Ilana.)