Democracy holds a special place in Reconstructionist teachings liturgy and practice — though Jews have embraced American democracy from its outside. Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., and Rabbi William Plevan, Ph.D., dive deep into Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan’s — the founding thinker of Reconstructionist Judaism — thinking on democracy and pluralism and why it matters today. Each shares thoughts on the prospects for liberal democracy at a time when the form of government is under strain across the world — and what it might mean for Jewish communities. As a bonus, Rabbi Jacob Staub, Ph.D., who directs the Evolve podcast, shares the process behind Evolve’s series of essays on democracy.
Reconstructionists looked to democracy not only because it was the way of the land, but also because they invested democracy with the belief that it emerged from and pointed toward universal truths. In their view, democracy was the closest moderns could get to revelation in an age of relativism, multi-vocality and pluralism. They ultimately asserted that it was the next great stage shaping the evolution of Jewish civilization.
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D.