Rabbi Gregory Marx has been a rabbi for four decades. At this point, his title is basically part of his name.
Yet there was a time when the rabbi was too cool for religion. He was a teenager coming of age in a Reform household, and he didn’t think Judaism had anything profound to say to him.
That was until he visited Israel as a 15-year-old after the Six-Day War.
It was a journey so transformative that it ultimately led Marx to Hebrew Union College, Temple Beth El in Boca Raton and finally Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen.
That’s where he remains today. And that’s where he will now retire.
The 67-year-old will step away in June after a gala in his honor. He will leave behind a 1,000-family congregation with a 66,000-square-foot property, a paid-off mortgage and hundreds of religious and preschool students.
Beth Or moved to its home on East Welsh Road in 2006. Marx led the effort to raise $11 million to build the place.
“I always tell Greg it’s the house that Greg built,” said Art Cohn, the longtime Beth Or member who hired Marx.
The rabbi is retiring to “make room for younger people with fresher ideas,” he said. At Beth Or, Marx’s current associate rabbi, Jason Bonder, will take over as spiritual leader. Marx also said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
“Being a rabbi is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job,” he said.
But he felt its call after seeing Israel for the first time.
“It was just being in the state that was strong, defiant and able to defend itself,” Marx recalled. “My parents grew up during World War II in a time of Jewish trauma.”
That was only the beginning. In his office overlooking the Beth Or parking lot, Marx reflected on his rabbinate.
On Why He Came Here in 1989
When Beth Or was looking for a new rabbi, Cohn called Merle Singer, Beth Or’s former spiritual leader. Rabbi Singer was leading Temple Beth El in Boca Raton. Marx was his assistant.
The 31-year-old flew up to the Philadelphia suburbs and “interviewed fabulously,” Cohn recalled. Then Cohn and other Beth Or leaders flew down to Florida to watch Marx lead Shabbat services and mingle with congregants.
“He was personable,” Cohn said.
“They had just broken ground on building a new sanctuary at the old building (in Spring House),” Marx recalled. “And I saw that this place was positioned to grow.”
On Why He Stayed
“I loved the community,” the rabbi said. “It became an extended family.”
Marx considered going back to Florida in the late 1990s. But then he started the process of raising money to build the East Welsh Road property.
“And I said, ‘Where am I going?’” Marx recalled.
Construction began in 2003.
“I knew I wanted to be a rabbi of a big congregation,” he said. “I like a full day.”
On His Biggest Accomplishments
“This congregation became a more traditional leaning Reform congregation,” Marx said.
The rabbi added second-day services for Rosh Hashanah and had the congregation observe kashrut. He also emphasized the Zionism he discovered in his youth. Beth Or took more than 20 congregational trips to Israel during his rabbinate.
In February, 21 Beth Or members went on a post-Oct. 7 solidarity mission to Israel.
“I’m proud of the fact that this congregation is very supportive of Israel,” Marx said.
The rabbi is also “proud of the fact that we built this place from scratch.”
On His Legacy
“I’m leaving behind a congregation that is vibrant, that is faithful, that is growing and that is financially secure,” Marx said.
“I’m hopeful for the synagogue’s future,” he added.
On His Retirement Celebration
“I’d like to celebrate this congregation,” Marx said. “I think we’ve done it together.”
“The last half a year has been a pretty dark period of time,” he continued. “But at the same time, we cannot stop living and we cannot stop celebrating life as we’re called upon to do.”
On Retirement
Marx plans on volunteering as a chaplain, joining a couple of men’s choirs, working on his piano skills, reading non-Jewish books, traveling and playing with his granddaughter.
“I want to live my life on my schedule,” he said. “I’m opening a door. I’m not sure where it’s going to lead.”
