'Mordecai M. Kaplan' Review: The Faith of the Rabbi by Jenna Weissman Joselit, - a book review

Reviewed by Ms. Cole is the author of the memoir “After Great Pain: A New Life Emerges.”

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Kaplan contended in “Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life” (1934) that for Judaism to remain vital it must evolve and speak to new generations or risk becoming static and stale. Adaptation was the answer, and in one book after another he suggested how to do just that. His best-known innovation—his introduction, in 1922, of the modern bat mitzvah, to mark the 12th birthdays of Jewish girls—is now standard practice in all but Orthodox synagogues. His bent toward reframing traditional Jewish prayers and holidays to reflect current social and ethical concerns remains refreshingly relevant.

His constant questioning, even attempted jettisoning, of customs from the world of our ancestors could also prove, quite literally, incendiary—as happened in 1945, when a group of Orthodox rabbis greeted his newly published version of the Sabbath prayer book by burning the volume and excommunicating him as a heretic. Among Kaplan’s offenses: deleting all mention of Jews being the “chosen” people because, he wrote, not only was the notion outmoded; it barred “the way to peace and harmony among religions.”

Even more distasteful to these Orthodox rabbis was Kaplan’s scientific-minded rejection of accepting the Bible’s miracle tales at face value or of viewing God as an omnipotent, supernatural being. Kaplan defined God as a spiritual and ethical power that exists within us and that urges us to do good in the world. This was Kaplan’s faith; to others, it was sacrilege.

For all of Kaplan’s distinctions and controversies, the import of his legacy seems to have faded. In “Mordecai M. Kaplan: Restless Soul,” Jenna Weissman Joselit, a professor of Judaic studies and history at George Washington University, reminds us of his significant contributions to American Jewry.


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