- 280 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
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 action—teaching that "Judaism is a civilization" encompassing Jewish culture, art, and peoplehood; demonstrating how synagogues can be full centers for Jewish living (building one of the first "shuls with a pool"); and creating the first-ever bat mitzvah ceremony (for his daughter Judith)—Kaplan transformed the landscape of American Jewry. Yet much of Kaplan's rich treasury of ethical and spiritual thought is largely unknown. Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, who studied closely with Kaplan, offers unique insight into Kaplan's 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 week's Torah portion, Reuben presents Torah commentary, a related quotation from Kaplan, a reflective commentary integrating Kaplan's understanding of the Torah text, and an intimate story about his family or community's struggles and triumphs—guiding twenty-first-century spiritual seekers of all backgrounds on how to live reflectively and purposefully every day.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Series Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. Genesis (Bere’shit)
- Bere’shit: Fulfillment
- Noaḥ: Good Enough
- Lekh Lekha: Purpose
- Va-yera’: Interconnectedness
- Ḥayyei Sarah: Lovingkindness
- Toledot: Family
- Va-yetse’: Seeking
- Va-yishlaḥ: God-Wrestling
- Va-yeshev: Thoughtlessness
- Mikkets: Dreams
- Va-yiggash: Destiny
- Va-yeḥi: Appreciation
- 2. Exodus (Shemot)
- Shemot: Revelation
- Va-’era’: Mercy
- Bo’: Hardened Heart
- Be-shallaḥ: Action
- Yitro: Self-Interest
- Mishpatim: Human Dignity
- Terumah: Indwelling
- Tetsavveh: Light
- Ki Tissa’: Giving
- Va-yak’hel: Community
- Pekudei: Building
- 3. Leviticus (Va-yikra’)
- Va-yikra’: Prayer
- Tsav: Firelight
- Shemini: Godliness
- Tazriaʿ: Witness
- Metsoraʿ: Defilement
- ’Aḥarei Mot: Scapegoat
- Kedoshim: Holiness
- ’Emor: Hunger
- Be-har: Oppression
- Be-ḥukkotai: Free Will
- 4. Numbers (Be-midbar)
- Be-midbar: Wilderness
- Naso’: Blessings
- Be-haʿalotekha: Humility
- Shelaḥ-Lekha: Perception
- Koraḥ: Rebellion
- Ḥukkat: Anger
- Balak: Dwellings
- Pinḥas: Women
- Mattot: Vows
- Maseʿei: Vengeance
- 5. Deuteronomy (Devarim)
- Devarim: Discovery
- Va-’etḥannan: Oneness
- ʿEkev: Gratitude
- Re’eh: Choice
- Shofetim: Justice
- Ki Tetse’: Indifference
- Ki Tavo’: Experiencing God
- Nitsavim: Generations
- Va-yelekh: Teaching
- Ha’azinu: Rock
- Ve-zo’t ha-berakhah: Divine Kiss
- 6. Holidays
- Rosh Hashanah: Sovereignty of God
- Yom Kippur: Transformation
- Sukkot: Gratitude
- Shemini Atzeret: Sharing the Divine Presence
- Simḥat Torah: Celebration
- Hanukkah: Rededication
- Purim: Resilience
- Pesach: Freedom
- Yom ha-Shoah: Living in the Shadow
- Yom ha-Atzmaut: Building a Just Nation
- Shavuot: Torah
- Epigraph Source Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Bibliography
- About Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben
- Series List