Excerpt from Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life "Judaism' and 'Jewish religion' arc not synonymous terms. 'Judaism' is more comprehensive than 'Jewish religion,' for 'Jewish religion' is only a part of 'Judaism.' Judaism is the composite of the collected thoughts, sentiments and efforts of the Jewish people. In other words, Judaism is the sum total of all the manifestations of the distinctively Jewish national spirit. "The Jewish religion is, then, only a part of Judaism, though by far its most important part. Among no other people on earth has religion occupied so large, so significant a place in their spiritual life as it has among the Jews. But besides religion there were, and still are, other elements in Judaism." (Bernard Felsenthal, in Teacher in Israel, by Emma Felsenthal, New York, 1924, p. 212.) "It was a fatal mistake of the period of emancipation, a mistake which is the real source of all the subsequent disasters in modern Jewish life, that, in order to facilitate the fight for political equality, Judaism was put forward not as a culture, as the full expression of the inner life of the Jewish people, but as a creed, as the summary of a few abstract articles of faith, similar in character to the religion of the surrounding nations." (Israel Friedlaender, in Past and Present, Ark Pub. Co., Cincinnati, 1919, p. 267.) "Is the trend toward placing less emphasis on Judaism as a cult and more emphasis on Judaism as a civilization, i.e., identifying it with all the activities and relations of life?" (From a questionnaire submitted in 1925 to members of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.) Replies North South West Total Cult 3 8 4 15 Civilization 20 12 18 50 (Yearbook, C. C. A. R., 1926, p. 320.) About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

Judaism as a Civilization: Towards a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life

Religion & Spirituality

Mordecai M. Kaplan

Judaism

Jewish Publication Society of America

excellent condition in the interior of the paperback book, pages are clean, binding is tight, however there is a heavy shelf wear, scuff spots and creases on the cover, 378 pages, third paperback edition 1973, published by B'Nai B'Rith Department of Adult Jewish Education (J-22)

Contemporary Jewish Thought: A Reader

History

Abraham Isaac Kook

Franz Rosenzweig

Ahad Ha-Am

Aaron David Gordon

Hermann Cohen

Leo Baeck

Martin, Buber

Kaufmann, Kohler

World

Ben Yehuda Press

Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life (Classic Reprint)

Forgotten Books

A revolutionary book by a revolutionary thinker. Mordecai Kaplan was a true polymath, a philosopher, an early student of sociology and a learned rabbi in his own right. He saw in America a community within Judaism who needed a faith and a community which was relatable, applicable and possible to integrate fully into modern life. Judaism as a Civilization, aside from having launched a whole religious tradition, is full of sublimely formed arguments, a sense of the historical and theological situation of Judaism and the philosophical approach of medieval and modern theorists. Skipping lightly on from a review of Locke and Voltaire, Kaplan ventures into the economic realities of supporting a community and an accompanying religious apparatus, and the theological openness required to allow unfettered excellence. Kaplan challenged the normative nature of Jewish law, proposed a less literal conception of God and a fresh and egalitarian approach to the application of Jewish tradition in the modern world. He takes the position that Judaism and its adherents need to take radical action to reinvigorate community and faith and is inspiring in his advice. 'More dangerous to Judaism by far than challenge, opposition and even misinterpretation is the deadening acquiescence of apathy. The lack of controversial writing about Judaism, especially in English, does not mean that there is inward peace in Israel; it betokens the peace of stagnation. This spiritual stagnation in America must be disturbed, and if some of the views expressed in this book will produce the slightest ripple in American-Jewish thinking, the book will have served a useful purpose'.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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