Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionist Judaism This guest post was written by my dear friend and colleague Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, currently a Professor of Religion at Temple University.

Kaplan felt that for Jews to survive in modern times, especially in the United States, it was necessary for them to reconstruct their lives on the cultural foundation of a historical peoplehood. Kaplan believed that Judaism was a “religious civilization” emerging from the history and culture of the Jewish people. If concerns about Zionism could be examined anywhere in the Jewish community, Reconstructionist Judaism, with its history of taking courageous stances on difficult issues, should be the place. Judaism (originally from Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah"; via Latin and Greek) is an ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. This wide-ranging array of material reflects a striking uniformity in Reconstructionist positions on Zionism. years of ideological controversy between Zionism and its opponents, Z.B.T., despite its pride in its founders of 1898, has been considered a stronghold of anti-Zionism and assimilation.

It's an approach to Jewish living. Reconstructionist Judaism is more than a set of ideas. THE PURPOSE OF ZIONISM Rabbi Kaplan’s thought formed the original basis for Reconstructionism, and that is true also of Reconstructionist Zionism. The smallest of the four branches of American Judaism, Reconstructionism, originated in the philosophy of one individual — Mordecai Kaplan. contact Reconstructionist Judaism - Reconstructionism was founded as a movement within Conservative Judaism by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, who believed that Judaism is a "civilization' as opposed to religion. Judaism - Judaism has been defined, according to the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people." In practical use this term refers to branches or denominations of the Jewish religion as practiced in North America rather than Jewish ethnicity or nationality, and excludes the majority of Jews in Israel and the United states, who are not formally associated with any denomination. Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach (Expanded and Updated) | | ISBN: 9780935457506 | Kostenloser Versand für alle Bücher mit Versand und Verkauf duch Amazon.

31 Michael M. Cohen, Zionism … Learn more about a Reconstructionist approach to Jewish thought, ethics, values, and practice: Weekly Learning; Divrei Torah; Reconstructionism ; Reconstructionist Learning 2019‑20; Center for Jewish Ethics; Spirituality; Hashivenu Podcast; Act. Reconstructionist Judaism, a smaller progressive Jewish movement, found primarily in the United States. $4.75. It's an approach to Jewish living. Dr. Kaplan and Reconstructionism Questions Jews Ask: Reconstructionist Answers By Mordecai M. Kaplan Reconstructionist Press. Reconstructionist Judaism is more than a set of ideas. Reconstructionist Judaism and God Concepts of God Reconstructionist concepts of God are radically different from those of most Jews, or indeed most people who say they "believe in God". The ideas in these chapters are set out clearly and concisely and give the reader a good idea of what Reconstructionism is about. In preparing this essay, I had the opportunity to read books, editorials and articles from an 80-year span of Reconstructionist history. The Reconstructionist Volume 70, Number 1, Fall 2005 Table of Contents 2 From the Editor The Reconstructionist at Seventy 5 Richard Hirsh, American Jewish Life Since 1935: A Reconstructionist Retrospective 15 Rebecca T. Alpert and Jacob A. Staub, Exploring Judaism and Finding Reconstructionism 22 Mel Scult, Kaplan After Sinai: Evolution or Revelation? Reconstructionist Judaism, renamed Reconstructing Judaism in 2018, is a modern Jewish movement that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization and is based on the conceptions developed by Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983).
Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach 2nd updated Edition ... and the place of Zionism. This article is adapted and expanded from “The Reconstructionist: A Window on Jewish Life” (Reconstructionism Today, Autumn 1999). The principles of Reconstructionism were first publicly enunciated by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881–1983) in his book Judaism as a Civilization (1934).

The Jewish society therefore develops much like any other society. He wrote, “Judaism is unlikely to survive, either as an ancillary or coordinate civilization, unless … Humanistic Judaism, a nontheistic movement that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as the sources of Jewish identity. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenant that God established with the Children of Israel. It began as a liberal movement within Conservative Judaism and formally separated in the 1940s. This movement originated in the philosophy of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. 532 pp. A New Zionism By Mordecai M. Kaplan Theodor Herzl Foundation.