A Year with Mordecai Kaplan: Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion

by Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, David Teutsch (Foreword)

You are invited to spend a year with the inspirational words, ideas, and counsel of the great twentieth-century thinker Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, through his meditations on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and eleven Jewish holidays.

A pioneer of ideas and action—teaching that “Judaism is a civilization” encompassing Jewish culture, art, and peoplehood; demonstrating how synagogues can be full centers for Jewish living (building one of the first “shuls with a pool”); and creating the first-ever bat mitzvah ceremony (for his daughter Judith)—Kaplan transformed the landscape of American Jewry. Yet much of Kaplan’s rich treasury of ethical and spiritual thought is largely unknown.

Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, who studied closely with Kaplan, offers unique insight into Kaplan’s teachings about ethical relationships and spiritual fulfillment, including how to embrace godliness in everyday experience, our mandate to become agents of justice in the world, and the human ability to evolve personally and collectively. Quoting from the week’s Torah portion, Reuben presents Torah commentary, a related quotation from Kaplan, a reflective commentary integrating Kaplan’s understanding of the Torah text, and an intimate story about his family or community’s struggles and triumphs—guiding twenty-first-century spiritual seekers of all backgrounds on how to live reflectively and purposefully every day.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Mehmet · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much wisdom through simple, great writing. Ancient teachings and scripture made relevant to our 21st century lives.

[Joelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find I dislike.maybe 1/10 of what the author says personally about the parsha, and I find often enough that I focus on his comments about what Rabbi Mordecai Captain had to say