Let Drs. Waxman and Sacks
invite you in their own words…
The Kaplan Center is pleased to share the latest features of our website including:
- Dr. Jeffrey Schein on A Kaplanian Zionism and the Return of the Hostages
- Rabbi Michael Cohen’s article on crossing cultural boundaries during the war
MORE FEATURES:
- An interview with life-long Kaplan student and devotee of the Kaplan diaries, Mitchell Rothman, with Rabbi Michael Cohen
- Reflections of Rabbi Ira & Dr. Judith Eisenstein on the Woodstock Jewish Community, the first Bat Mitzvah, & the history of Reconstructionist Judaism
- Kaplan on One Foot: Mel Scult’s Eight Core Principles of Kaplan’s Philosophy
- Recollections by young adult former Camp Havaya counselors
- An article about Kaplan on intellectual and spiritual honesty
Israel is on all of our minds and in our conversations these days. Join our conversation through:
- Kaplan, Democracy, and Zionism conference dedicated to the memory of Jack Cohen
- Kaplan & Israel: A New, New Zionism webinar
- Our latest contemporary Talmud page with a new commentary by Rabbi Bob Gluck
- Kaplan Center Stands with Israel, Pursues Peace
- Webinar with Rabbi Michael Cohen & the Arava Institute

Upcoming Webinars


Four Evenings with
Rabbi Lee Friedlander and Harriet Feiner
January 8, 15, 22, and 29
7-8:30 pm Eastern
A Three-Part Series in Honor of the 40th Yahrzeit of Mordecai Kaplan
and the 90th Anniversary of Judaism as a Civilization
What Remains Revelatory in the 21st Century in Mordecai Kaplan’s Thought?
with Drs. Arnie Eisen, David Ellenson, and Nancy Fuchs Kreimer
Sunday, November 12, 2023
3 pm Eastern
Judaism as a Civilization, The Hanukkah Gift to the Jewish People and World that Keeps on Giving
with Dr. Deborah Waxman and a response by Dr. Elias Sacks
Sunday, December 10, 2023
3 pm Eastern
The Great Kaplanian Report Card: Valley Beth Shalom as a Kaplanian Playground
with Rabbis Amy Bernstein, Ed Feinstein, and Jeffrey Schein
Sunday, January 7, 2023
3 pm Eastern
Visit our newly opened Ira Eisenstein portal where you will find….

- Introductions by Rabbi Richard Hirsh to Ira Eisenstein’s books Creative Judaism and What We Mean by Religion with digital copies of those currently out-of-print volumes soon to be made available on our website
- Reflections about Ira Eisenstein as theologian and wise leader by Rabbis Dennis Sasso and Jeffrey Schein
- A recording of Rabbi Eisenstein’s contributions that was hosted by the SAJ:Judaism that Stands For All as part of its centenary celebration
Kaplanian Perspectives & Scholarship
Dr. Vered Sakal
Realism, Pluralism and Salvation
Dr. Eric Caplan
The True Spirit of Hanukkah
Kaplanian Voices
Our Kaplanian voices series seeks to sensitize us to the unique ways many of us experience the very notion of Peoplehood in 2023. Below are excerpts from conversation between Rabbis Jeffrey Eisenstat, founding director of our movement’s Camp Havaya, and former camp counselors about their initial exposures to the philosophies of Mordecai Kaplan a decade ago and its present meaning to them as young adult Jews in their thirties.