IOverview
Reconstructionist Judaism grew from the thought of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan in New York. His central idea was that Judaism is not just a set of beliefs or laws but the evolving civilization of the Jewish people, with its language, history, literature, arts, land and religion.
Two consequences follow. Each generation is responsible for rebuilding, reconstructing, the tradition for its own time. And the community decides democratically, with rabbis as guides and teachers rather than legal authorities. It is the smallest of the five main movements, yet several of its innovations later spread to others.
IIHistory
Mordecai Kaplan, 1881 to 1983, grew up Orthodox, was ordained, and taught for decades at the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary. In 1922 he founded the Society for the Advancement of Judaism in New York. That same year his daughter Judith Kaplan celebrated a bat mitzvah, usually regarded as the first public bat mitzvah in the United States. In 1934 he published Judaism as a Civilization.
For many years Kaplan saw his ideas as a school of thought within existing movements rather than a new one. Only in 1955 was the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation formed, and in 1968 the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College opened near Philadelphia. The two merged in 2012 and took the name Reconstructing Judaism in 2018.
- 1922Society for the Advancement of JudaismFounded by Kaplan in New York. The same year, Judith Kaplan's bat mitzvah.
- 1934Judaism as a CivilizationThe movement's foundational book.
- 1955Jewish Reconstructionist FederationCongregations organise as a separate movement.
- 1968Reconstructionist Rabbinical CollegeThe movement's own seminary opens near Philadelphia.
- 2018Reconstructing JudaismNew name of the merged organisation.
IIIBeliefs and Distinctives
- An evolving civilization: Judaism is the life of a people, always changing.
- The past has a vote, not a veto: a phrase associated with Kaplan, meaning tradition is heard seriously but does not bind.
- The idea of God: Kaplan described God as the power in the universe that makes for human fulfilment, not a being who intervenes at will. Members today hold a range of views.
- Democracy: the community deliberates and votes on practice.
Kaplan removed the idea of the chosen people from his prayer book, holding that it could be read as ranking peoples. This is a clear difference from other movements. The movement was early to accept full gender equality, patrilineal descent and gay and lesbian rabbis.
Not really. It keeps prayer, Shabbat, festivals and Torah study, understanding them differently. Humanistic Judaism, a separate small movement, is the one that does not place God at the centre.
IVWorship, Rites and Daily Life
Reconstructionist services use a good deal of Hebrew, alongside translation and modern readings. The movement's prayer books replace references to chosenness with language about the Jewish people's calling. Many congregations are small and informal, with members taking turns to lead and teach.
How to keep kashrut or Shabbat is decided by each household after study, in a spirit of communal discussion. Many congregations tie religious life to social justice and environmental work.
VOrganisation and Distribution
The central body today is Reconstructing Judaism, combining the seminary and the congregational union. According to English Wikipedia, accessed in 2026, it serves more than 100 congregations in 7 countries, most in the United States and Canada. In 2025 Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades, described as the largest Reconstructionist congregation in the United States, announced it would disaffiliate over disagreement about the movement's stance on Zionism.
Pew Research Center in 2021 did not report the movement separately, grouping it with Humanistic Judaism among other movements, together 4 percent of Jewish adults in the United States.
VIIn Vietnam
The library has not found any source for an organised Reconstructionist congregation or group in Vietnam. All organised Jewish centres found belong to Chabad, see the Chabad branch page. According to figures cited by VietNamNet in 2025, Judaism is not among the sixteen religions recognised by the state.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIIOther Branches of Judaism
Reform Judaismיהדות רפורמית Yahadut ReformitTook shape in early 19th-century Germany (Hamburg Temple, 1818) and grew in North America.Uses the common symbol of the pathHaredi Orthodox Judaism, including Hasidismחרדים Haredim, חסידות HasidutStrictly traditional Orthodoxy centred on Talmud study, with distinctive dress.Uses the common symbol of the pathModern Orthodox Judaismאורתודוקסיה מודרנית, דתי לאומי Dati LeumiTook shape in mid-19th-century Germany with Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.Uses the common symbol of the pathConservative Judaism (Masorti)יהדות מסורתית MasortiTook shape with Zacharias Frankel in mid-19th-century Germany and in North America from 1886.Uses the common symbol of the pathReconstructionist JudaismReconstructionist JudaismGrew from the thought of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan in early 20th-century North America.Uses the common symbol of the path
Chabad-Lubavitchחב״ד ChabadA Hasidic group founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 to 1812).Karaite Judaismיהדות קראית Yahadut Qara'itAccepts only the written Tanakh as supreme authority, rejecting the rabbinic Oral Torah and Talmud.Uses the common symbol of the pathIXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
What do Reconstructionists believe about God?
The founder, Mordecai Kaplan, described God as the power in the universe that makes for human fulfilment, not a being who intervenes at will. Members today hold a range of views, and the movement does not impose one definition.
When was the first bat mitzvah?
Judith Kaplan's bat mitzvah in New York in 1922, Mordecai Kaplan's daughter, is usually regarded as the first public bat mitzvah in the United States.
How large is the Reconstructionist movement?
It is the smallest of the five main movements, with more than 100 congregations according to English Wikipedia. Pew Research Center in 2021 grouped it with other movements, together 4 percent of American Jewish adults.