Knowra Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983) was an American rabbi and religious thinker who founded Reconstructionist Judaism, understanding Judaism as an evolving religious civilization.
Judah Magnes : Judah Magnes was an American Reform rabbi and educator who helped establish the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As a colleague at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Magnes shared Kaplan’s educational world while pursuing a different path.
Judaism as a civilization : Judaism as a civilization is the view that Jewish life includes religion, culture, language, history, and communal institutions. This is Kaplan’s defining framework for understanding Judaism beyond a religion alone.
Reconstructionist Judaism : Reconstructionist Judaism is a Jewish movement that treats Judaism as an evolving religious civilization shaped by its communities. Kaplan’s ideas became the movement’s foundations and continue to define its approach.
The New Haggadah : The New Haggadah is a Passover liturgy edited by Mordecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn, and Ira Eisenstein, first published in 1941. Its reinterpretation of traditional themes made Kaplan’s theology visible in a widely used ritual text.
Reform Judaism : Reform Judaism is a modern Jewish movement that emphasizes ethical interpretation and adaptation of Jewish practice to changing times. Kaplan’s movement also adapted tradition but framed Judaism as a civilization rather than primarily a religion.
Solomon Schechter : Solomon Schechter was a scholar of rabbinic Judaism and a founder of Conservative Judaism in the United States. Schechter’s understanding of Judaism as a living tradition helped shape the seminary milieu in which Kaplan worked.
Jewish peoplehood : Jewish peoplehood is the idea that Jews form a historically connected people with shared culture, memory, and communal life. Kaplan’s civilizational account centers Jewish collective identity as well as religious belief.
Jewish Theological Seminary of America : The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is a New York institution for the study and training of Conservative Jewish clergy and scholars. Kaplan taught there for decades and developed many of his ideas within its institutional setting.
Jewish renewal : Jewish renewal is a modern movement emphasizing spiritual practice, participatory worship, and the renewal of Jewish communal life. Kaplan’s emphasis on adapting inherited practice anticipated later efforts to renew Jewish communal and spiritual life.
Orthodox Judaism : Orthodox Judaism is a modern movement that regards traditional Jewish law as binding and authoritative. Kaplan’s democratic approach to changing Jewish law differs from Orthodox commitments to halakhic authority.
Show all 27