Mordecai Kaplan

Lore & Background

Mordecai Menahem Kaplan was born Mottel Kaplan in Sventiany in the Russian Empire (present-day Švenčionys in Lithuania) on June 11, 1881. His father, Rabbi Israel Kaplan, brought him to New York in 1889. Kaplan studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) and City College of New York, later earning a master's degree and doctorate from Columbia University. He was ordained at JTSA in 1902. Early in his career, he served as rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun and later as principal of JTSA's teachers' institute from 1909 until his retirement in 1963.

By 1904, Kaplan had serious misgivings about Orthodoxy's ability to satisfy his spiritual needs. He doubted the divine inspiration of the Tanakh and the efficacy of prayers and rituals, causing internal turmoil as he led an Orthodox congregation. In 1922, he resigned from the Jewish Center in New York due to ideological conflicts and established the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, which became the core of the Reconstructionist movement. He held the first public bat mitzvah in the United States for his daughter Judith on March 18, 1922.

Reader's Guide

Kaplan's significance lies in his Reconstructionist philosophy, which contended that Judaism should be a unifying and creative force by stressing its cultural and historical character alongside theological doctrine. He emphasized intellectual honesty in confronting modern challenges to traditional beliefs. His ideas—such as Judaism as a civilization, bat mitzvah, egalitarian involvement of women, and the synagogue as a Jewish center—eventually became commonplace in all but strictly Orthodox segments of the community. From 1934 to 1970, he wrote a series of books expressing his ideology, which attempted to adapt Judaism to modern realities and necessitated a new conception of God. His work influenced Jewish education in America and the broader Jewish community through his teaching, writings, and public lectures.

Did You Know?

• Kaplan held the first public bat mitzvah in the United States for his daughter Judith on March 18, 1922.
• He won a $10,000 prize in 1929 for his answer to how Judaism could best adjust to modern life.
• Kaplan was ordained by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines while on his honeymoon in Europe in 1908.
• He served as principal of the teachers' institute at JTSA for over fifty years, from 1909 to 1963.