Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (1881–1983) was an American rabbi, theologian, and educator who founded the Reconstructionist movement in Judaism. His ideas, while often controversial, deeply influenced modern Jewish thought, particularly in promoting gender equality within religious life.
Born in Svencionys, Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, he immigrated to the United States in 1889. He studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University. Kaplan viewed Judaism as an evolving civilization rather than a fixed set of religious laws, a concept that shaped his lifelong work.
He served on the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary for decades, mentoring generations of scholars and rabbis. In 1922, he helped found the Society for the Advancement of Judaism and introduced the first Bat Mitzvah ceremony for his daughter Judith, a major step toward gender inclusivity in Judaism.
His major works include Judaism as a Civilization (1934,) The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (1937,) The Future of the American Jew (1948,) and The Religion of Ethical Nationhood (1970.) Through his writings and leadership, he advanced a modern, inclusive vision of Jewish life.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Mordecai Kaplan
A Religion is as much a progressive unlearning of false ideas concerning God as it is the learning of the true ideas concerning God.
—Mordecai Kaplan
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