The Rabbi Who Rejected Yiddish: Mordecai Kaplan’s Vision with Jenna Weissman Joselit

Jenna Weissman Joselit discusses Restless Soul, her biography of Mordecai M. Kaplan. Jenna begins by exploring her own family’s linguistic history, including the myth of a “Marrano bullfighter” ancestor, before diving into Kaplan's 102-year life and massive diary that he called his “golem.” She details Kaplan’s vision of Judaism as a civilization rather than just a religion, highlighting his goal to create “plus-Jews” who embrace the joys of tradition. Jenna explains Kaplan’s rejection of Yiddish in favor of Hebrew and English and his invention of terms like “peoplehood” and “Reconstructionism”—a term likely borrowed from Upper West Side real estate development.Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyVideo editor: Talia EhrenbergTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.