Mordecai kaplan biography for kids

Lithuanian American rabbi (1881–1983)

Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983) was an American Modern Orthodoxrabbi, writer, Jewisheducator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism along with his son-in-law Ira Eisenstein.^[1][2][3][4] He has been described as a "towering figure" in the recent history of Judaism for his influential work in adapting it to modern society, contending that Judaism should be a unifying and creative force by stressing the cultural and historical character of the religion as well as theological doctrine.^[3]

Life and work

Mordecai Menahem Kaplan was born Mottel Kaplan in Sventiany in the Russian Empire (present-day Švenčionys in Lithuania) on June 11, 1881,^[2][5] the son of Haya (née Anna) and Rabbi Israel Kaplan.^[4] His father, ordained by the leading Li