Sunday, November 8, 2026
at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST)
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Mordecai M. Kaplan spent his long life asking a challenging question: How could Judaism remain vibrant, meaningful, and relevant in the modern world?
Born in Lithuania in 1881 and brought to New York as a child, Kaplan was raised in an Orthodox home, ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and went on to become an innovative teacher, rabbi, philosopher, and communal leader. His ideas would ultimately influence Jewish religious life far beyond the movement most closely associated with his name—Reconstructionist Judaism.
Kaplan envisioned the synagogue not simply as a house of prayer, but as the center of a flourishing Jewish community. He championed Jewish education, helped shape the modern Jewish community center, encouraged a greater role for women in Jewish religious life, and presided over the historic first bat mitzvah of his daughter Judith in 1922.
His innovations also generated fierce controversy. Kaplan challenged traditional understandings of revelation, prayer, and Jewish law, describing Judaism as an evolving civilization and developing a naturalistic understanding of God.
Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins presents an accessible portrait of Kaplan’s remarkable life, exploring his work as a teacher, his religious philosophy, his views of Halakhah, Zionism and Israel, and the emergence of the Reconstructionist movement. Kaplan’s ideas eventually reached well beyond Reconstructionism, influencing many currents of modern Jewish life.
Mordecai M. Kaplan is the story of a bold and controversial thinker whose search for a Judaism capable of meeting the modern age continues to raise important questions about Jewish faith, identity, community, and the future of Jewish life.
Dr. Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins is a nationally known lecturer, educator, workshop leader, author, and book critic. He is Rabbi Emeritus at The Jewish Center of Princeton, NJ.
Rabbi Elkins is a recipient of the National Jewish Book Award and is the author of over 66 books. His Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul was on the NY Times bestseller list.
His most recent books are Jews Celebrate Shabbat – Sing, Rejoice, and Exult; Rabbi Louis Jacobs, The Influential Legacy of a Modern British Rabbi Immersed in Controversy; Menachem Begin: A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience; The Power of Stories and Ideas from Talmud and Midrash: Their Meaning for Our Time; The Power of Jewish Holiday Stories: Their Meaning for Our Time; The Power of Hasidic Stories: Their Meaning for Our Time; Judaism: Ideas, People, and Rituals; Rabbi Sabato Morais: Pioneer Sephardic Rabbi of Early American Judaism; The Battle Between the Menorah and the Magen David; Rabbi Alexander Goode: The Rabbi and His Three Fellow Chaplains Who Went Down with the USAT Dorchester; The Founder of Hasidism: Wisdom and Tales of the Baal Shem Tov; Peter Bergson – The Jewish Lobbyist Who Advocated To Save Jews During the Holocaust; The Friendship That Shaped Jewish History; Bialik: Israel’s National Poet; The Power of Human Speech – In the Jewish Tradition; Fate; Jewish Ethical Wisdom from Pirkei Avot; and Heart and Scroll: Inspiring Stories from the Master.
Dr. Elkins lives in Jerusalem.
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