By Kaplan
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As we prepare to begin our reading of the Book of Exodus at a time of war and conflict these two reflections by Mel Scult on Kaplan’s views of might and right seem particularly contemporary. From Mordecai Kaplan: What can be plainer than that the following indicates what the Exodus meant to Israel: “And for…
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KAPLAN in the period after the end of World War I , was concerned about the issue of free speech. Right now both in America and in Israel the matter of free speech is very much on people’s minds. With Israel at war should we allow ourselves the space to criticize the government in its…
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The Journals of Mordecai M. Kaplan Edited by Mel Scult Available for purchase (see below)
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This diary entry from Kaplan illustrates the spiritual doubts of a number of rabbinical students from the early forties. The entry is significant on many levels not the least of which is the fact that Jack Cohen and Sidney Morgenbesser were in the group. Kaplan’s response is significant in that it illustrates that though he…
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Mordecai Kaplan founded The Reconstructionist in 1935 to popularize his thought and to show its relevance to issues facing American Jews. Accordingly, each issue of the magazine opened with a series of editorials in which current events were analyzed from the standpoint of Reconstructionism. The editorial line was formulated collectively by the Editorial Board, which…
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from Mel Scult’s Mordecai Kaplan Facebook page Kaplan famously stated that religion in general and Judaism in particular was a matter of “belonging, believing and behaving.” In the late forties he was in Los Angeles working to raise money for the proposed “University of Judaism”. In a talk to about forty writers, musicians and artists…
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Kaplan has been accused of a naive optimism that belongs to a previous era. But the truth is that we desperately need his faith in our ability to overcome the difficulties that life presents to us. We will not survive much less achieve salvation [sheleymut] if we succumb to despair, self-pity and doubt. We must…
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