Sheridan
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Mel Scult, professor, scholar, husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, was born May 28, 1934 in Paterson, New Jersey. It is quite amazing that Mordecai Kaplan’s Judaism as a Civilization appeared on that same day. Scult’s family were members of a Conservative synagogue, where as a teen, he participated in services and in synagogue activities,…
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Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983) American rabbi and founder of Reconstructionism was born in Sventzian, Lithuania, the son of Rabbi Israel Kaplan and Chaya Nehama Kaplan. His father was a prominent Talmudic scholar who had received rabbinic ordination in Lithuania from the most outstanding rabbis of the day. The family…
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with Rabbis Michael Cohen and Fred DobbSunday, February 9, 2025 – 1pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) Rabbi Michael Cohen is a faculty member of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Bennington College. He teaches courses on conflict resolution, the Bible, and the environment. He has worked for the Arava Institute since its doors opened…
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This year is a very special one. We are celebrating both the 90th anniversary of the publication of Judaism as a Civilization and the 90th birth year of Mel Scult, Kaplan’s biographer. An amazing tidbit: the NYTimes announcement of the publication of this seminal volume came out within days of Mel’s birthdate!! Both of these…
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The notion of living in two civilizations is rapidly being eclipsed in the 21st century by the notion of living in multiple civilizations, among them digital, global, multi-cultural, and multi-gender orientations. From Earl Schwartz Historical and Cultural PerspectivesKwame Anthony Appiah’s work on identity, The Ethics of Identity, (in which he references Kaplan) is a very…
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with author Amy Schiller and Rabbi Mordechai Liebling Tuesday, September 17, 2024 The High Holidays are a time associated with reflection, repentance, and renewal. The Unetanah Tokef prayer, recited on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur morning, suggests that one of the ways to improve our return to community in the reality of our mistakes is…
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Sponsored by the Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood in cooperation with Camp Havaya and Reconstructing Judaism About the Prize Mel Scult is the premiere biographer of Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. He is beyond doubt the world’s expert on the life and writings of Mordecai Kaplan. We invited teens, B Mitzvah age through 12th grade…
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with Rabbi Mira Wasserman, Ph.D.Sunday, June 9, 2024 Please join us as we thank Rabbi Jeffrey Schein for his work as Executive Director of The Mordecai Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood, introduce our new Executive Director, Rabbi Elisheva Sachs Salamo, and learn from Rabbi Mira Wasserman, Director of the Center for Jewish Ethics and Associate…
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with Aaron Dorfman, Amy Spitalnick, Rabbis Amy Klein and Bill Plevan, and moderated by Rabbi Elyse Wechterman Wednesday, March 20, 2024 Over 50 years ago, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, posited that Democracy was essential for a vibrant and thriving Jewish people/community. Our question is: was he right? Do Jews and Judaism need…
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with Rabbi Elizabeth BoltonSunday, March 23, 2025 – 3pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton began her career as an opera singer and vocal teacher, studying, performing and touring across Canada and in Europe. A stint as a cantor in Toronto combined with a life-long commitment to activism helped guide her to attend the…