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 actionùteaching that ôJudaism is a civilizationö encompassing Jewish culture, art, and peoplehood; demonstrating how synagogues can be full centers for Jewish living (building one of the first ôshuls with a poolö); and creating the first-ever bat mitzvah ceremony (for his daughter Judith)ùKaplan transformed the landscape of American Jewry. Yet much of KaplanÆs rich treasury of ethical and spiritual thought is largely unknown. Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, who studied closely with Kaplan, offers unique insight into KaplanÆs 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 weekÆs Torah portion, Reuben presents Torah commentary, a related quotation from Kaplan, a reflective commentary integrating KaplanÆs understanding of the Torah text, and an intimate story about his family or communityÆs struggles and triumphsùguiding twenty-first-century spiritual seekers of all backgrounds on how to live reflectively and purposefully every day.
- | Author: Steven Carr Reuben
- | Publisher: Jewish Publicaton Society
- | Publication Date: Apr 01, 2019
- | Number of Pages: 296 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Paperback/Religion
- | ISBN-10: 0827612729
- | ISBN-13: 9780827612723
