Happy Mordecai Kaplan (Loose Modern Judaism Relaxed)

kaplan

Delighted to be corrected by a photograph of a happy Mordecai Kaplan smiling with colleagues in the early 1950s at the Teachers’ Institute. Easy laughs and relaxed posture. Thanks Maria Carson and Mel Scult for sharing. Modern Judaism should look like this –loose, open, liberal. Mel says on FB that this is a never before seen photograph, or was he just poking gentle fun at me? But as David Kaufman reminds me in a comment to this post, this photo was taken at Teachers’ Institute, where Kaplan was in charge! So at David’s urging, I’m not prepared to give up on my theory about Mordecai Kaplan.

About zjb

Zachary Braiterman is Professor of Religion in the Department of Religion at Syracuse University. His specialization is modern Jewish thought and philosophical aesthetics. http://religion.syr.edu
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2 Responses to Happy Mordecai Kaplan (Loose Modern Judaism Relaxed)

  1. David Kaufman says:

    Don’t give in so easily, Zack–you were right, he was quite miserable at the Seminary; but felt
    much more at ease within the more congenial sphere of the Teachers Institute (where he was, of course, the boss). Context is all.

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