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Mordecai M. Kaplan: Restless Soul
Mordecai M. Kaplan: Restless Soul
By Jenna Weissman Joselit
Published March 17, 2026
320 pages
“Wonderful” —Rabbi David Wolpe
An engaging biography that goes behind the myths to reveal the complex life of a transformative figure in modern American Judaism
Rabbi, writer, teacher, and thinker, Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881–1983) was one of the leading Jewish personalities of twentieth-century America. Founder of the Reconstructionist movement, he was a maverick who reshaped religious faith and practice, generating controversy at every turn. Known for his relentless energy and imagination, Kaplan redefined Jewish identity, emphasizing reason over superstition and intellectual discovery over passive inheritance. He introduced new rituals, reevaluated the role of tradition, and advocated for a Judaism that evolved with the times and fostered an inclusive community. Drawn extensively from Kaplan’s private diaries and correspondence with family and close friends, Jenna Weissman Joselit’s intimate portrait of this influential and iconoclastic thinker sheds new light on the meaning of American Judaism, identity, the limits of belonging, and the role of faith in modern society.
About the Author
Jenna Weissman Joselit is the Charles E. Smith Professor of Judaic Studies and professor of history at the George Washington University. Her many books include Set in Stone: America’s Embrace of the Ten Commandments and The Wonders of America: Reinventing Jewish Culture, 1880–1950, a National Jewish Book Award winner in History.
Author photograph © Sigrid Estrada
Reviews
“To capture Mordecai Kaplan’s long and astonishingly productive life takes skill and discernment and a deep understanding of American Jewish life. All these qualities are on display is Joselit’s wonderful volume. She has done justice to a remarkable man.” —Rabbi David Wolpe, author of David: The Divided Heart
