What is Reconstructionist Judaism?
"The name “Reconstructionism” was adopted by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan in the 1920s to communicate that Judaism itself—its structure, beliefs, rituals, customs and culture—must be “reconstructed” in each generation to renew its relevance and ensure its sustainability."
Reconstructionism as an Approach - Reconstructing Judaism. 17 July 2019, https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/reconstructionism/.
Books
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Contemporary Judaism
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Publication Date: 1986-02-01Discusses the history and beliefs of the four major branches of Judaism in the United States. -
Dynamic Judaism
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Publication Date: 1991-01-01Kaplan's concept of Judaism as an evolving religious civilization was widely influential in 20th-century American Jewish life, and his founding of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College created a new denomination. This book contains a biographical essay and excerpts from all of his major works. -
God-Optional Religion in Twentieth-Century America
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Publication Date: 2022-12-13By the beginning of the twentieth century, it had become harder for many Americans to believe in God. Religious groups struggled to adapt to rapidly changing cultural and scientific developments that seemed to challenge the plausibility of traditional beliefs. In God-Optional Religion in Twentieth-Century America, Isaac Barnes May focuses on the stories of three groups-liberal Quakers, Unitarians, and the forerunners of what would become Reconstructionist Judaism-that attempted to preserve their faith in the modern world by redefining what it meant to be religious. -
Judaism As a Civilization
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Publication Date: 2010-01-11"...This classic work is widely considered the genesis of the Reconstructionist Movement, and remains one of the most original and stimulating contributions to modern Jewish thought."-- International Journal of Jewish Education Research -
Profiles in American Judaism
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Publication Date: 1985-01-01About the history of various Jewish religious streams in the United States.
Helpful Links
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Britannica: ReconstructionismReconstructionism, in American Judaism, movement and ideology founded in 1922 that holds that Judaism is in essence a religious civilization the religious elements of which are purely human, naturalistic expressions of a specific culture. Because Reconstructionism rejects the notion of a transcendent God who made a covenant with his chosen people, it does not accept the Bible as the inspired word of God.
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Jewish Virtual LibraryReconstructionism- ideology and movement in U.S. religious life. Both the idea and the movement owe their inspiration to Mordecai Menahem *Kaplan (1881–1983). Raised Orthodox in Eastern Europe, Kaplan came to America at age eight. He saw his generation responding to this radically different setting in two ways: struggling to maintain Jewish identity while acclimating to America, or abandoning Jewish identity altogether.
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Jewish Women's ArchiveReconstructionist Judaism was founded by Mordecai Kaplan in the United States in the early twentieth century. Reconstructionism understands Judaism to be “the evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people” and seeks to integrate modern ideals, foremost among them a commitment to democracy, into Jewish life.