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Dennis Sasso, a native of Panama, has been senior rabbi at Beth-El Zedeck since 1977, a role that includes serving as a pastor, teacher, preacher and head of the synagogue staff. He’s set to retire this weekend after 47 years of service. Sasso is chair of the Indianapolis Board of Rabbis and past president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. He serves on the board of the Hispanic Center and the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. He’s also a public speaker and writes articles and essays for newspapers, journals and academic publications. He’s been honored with a Sagamore of the Wabash and has been recognized for his leadership in the NAACP.
Something surprising
My native language is Spanish. I was born and raised in Panama and did not come to the United States until I started college. My wife, (Rabbi) Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and I are the first married rabbinical couple in world Jewish history.
Admires most
Young people whose passion and creative ideas give me hope for the future. Elders whose equanimity and wisdom center us in the here and now.
In 2020, into the first year of the pandemic, I gave a High Holy Days sermon about three models of inspiration: Ruth Bader Ginsberg, John Lewis and Anthony Fauci. Today, I would add Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose patriotism, heroism, philosophy and undaunted resolve serve as models of leadership and inspiration.
Recent reads
I read mostly non-fiction: news, magazines, journals, biographies, history, philosophy and textual exegeses. I also like to read poetry—especially in Spanish.
Advice for a young person
What my rabbinic mentor, Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, said to me: “Some people will love you without reason and some will hate you without reason. Be yourself. You’ll know when you have done well and when you
have not.”
Worries about
Growing polarization and factionalism. Conversation that turns into argument and dialogue that becomes diatribe. Failure to be open to ideas because of commitment to ideology. That we are fraying into the “untied” states rather than the United States.
That so many people think faith is more about believing and praying rather than about thinking and doing. I worry about racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, misogyny, gender discrimination, poverty and classism. I worry that we are so often more interested in the pragmatics of profits than in the ideals of the prophets.
Walk-up song
“To Dream the Impossible Dream”•
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