Nationality American Parents Leon Wildes | Spouse(s) Jill Wildes | |
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Residence Upper West Side, Manhattan Alma mater Yeshiva University
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Columbia University Occupation Founder and director of Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE) Children Yosef, Ezra, Judah, and Avigayil | ||
Mark N. Wildes is an American rabbi who founded and directs the Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE), a Jewish outreach organization and community for young Jewish professionals in their 20's and 30's.
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Bio
Wildes grew up in Queens, New York, the son of Ruth and Leon Wildes, a prominent immigration lawyer who represented John Lennon. His older brother Michael Wildes was Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey.
Wildes holds a BA in Psychology from Yeshiva University, a JD from the Cardozo School of Law, a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University, and was ordained as a rabbi from Yeshiva University.
Prior to becoming a rabbi, Wildes worked for the Coalition to Free Soviet Jews alongside Senator Patrick Moynihan and Congressmen Gary Ackerman. Before founding MJE, Wildes served as Outreach Director at the Queens Jewish Center (1991-1994) and Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Ohab Zedek (1994-1996) and then at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (1996-1998).
Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE)
Wildes founded MJE in 1998 in memory of his late mother Ruth B. Wildes, who was a pillar of the Jewish community of Forest Hills, Queens. MJE hosts the annual Ruth B. Wildes Memorial Lecture on her yahrtzeit (Jewish anniversary of her passing). Past speakers have included Michael Oren, Alan Dershowitz, Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, Dr. Norman Lamm, and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin.
MJE serves as an open community for young Jewish professionals in their 20's and 30's to explore Jewish life and meet new people. Programming includes Shabbat dinners, holiday events and parties, weekend excursions, beginner services, and trips to Israel. MJE has grown to include three locations in Manhattan in the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and downtown, which serve approximately 20,000 attendees and 5,000 unique participants annually. Through MJE, 253 couples have met and married.
Publications
Wildes actively blogs for The Times of Israel and The Huffington Post. He has also made appearances on Huffington Post Live and Fox News.
Wildes authored an essay entitled "Human Dignity" for the 2014 book, Mining for Gold: Essays Exploring the Relevancy of Torah in the Modern World.
Personal life
Wildes lives on the Upper West Side of New York with his wife Jill and their four children Yosef, Ezra, Judah, and Avigayil. He is an avid Beatles and particularly John Lennon fan, and plays the drums. Growing up, Wildes played drums in rock, blues, and klezmer bands.