John Kaplan is an American cantor. [1] [2] He was Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Appeals of the American Conference of Cantors (ACC) and was Secretary of the ACC Executive Board. [2] In 2010, the ACC named him Volunteer of the Year. [2] In 1981, he became Cantor of Temple Israel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he served as clergy liaison to its committee on congregational caring, God’s Unfinished Business. [2] In 2014, he became spiritual leader of CongregationB'nai Israel in Jackson, a position similar to that of a pastor, which had traditionally been held by a rabbi. [1]
Kaplan attended University of North Texas, then obtained a Master of Arts in Religion degree from Memphis Theological Seminary. [2] His Cantorial Certification and Investiture was from the HUC-JIR School of Sacred Music in New York. [2] He trained under Cantor Joseph Cycowski in Palm Springs, California, then trained under Cantor William Sharlin of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, California. [2]
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term also used in Christianity.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States. The current president of AIPAC is Betsy Berns Korn.
Eric Ivan Cantor is an American former politician and lawyer who served as the United States Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district from 2001 to 2014. As a member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011. He previously served as House Minority Whip from 2009 to 2011.
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is a Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. It is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. RRC has an enrollment of approximately 80 students in rabbinic and other graduate programs.
Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of the Jewish religion.
Don Tourliev "Danny" Maseng is an Israeli-born performer. An actor, singer and writer, Maseng is known as a composer of contemporary Jewish Liturgical music. He currently leads MAKOM LA, a spiritual community in Los Angeles, California.
Douglass is a community on the north side of Memphis, Tennessee. Douglass was named after Frederick Douglass, who was admired by William Rush-Plummer, the one-time owner of the land where the Douglass neighborhood currently stands.
Beth Israel Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 5315 Old Canton Road in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Organized in 1860 by Jews of German background, it has always been, and remains, the only Jewish synagogue in Jackson. Beth Israel built the first synagogue in Mississippi in 1867, and, after it burned down, its 1874 replacement was at one time the oldest religious building in Jackson.
Congregation Beth Israel is a Jewish congregation located at 10460 North 56th Street in Scottsdale, Arizona. Formally incorporated in 1920, it affiliated with the Reform Judaism in 1935.
Temple Beth Israel is a Reform synagogue located at One Bowman Street in Plattsburgh, New York. Established in 1861, it served Plattsburgh's Jewish population and itinerant Jewish tradesmen in the region. After worshiping in temporary locations, the congregation acquired its first permanent home on Oak Street in 1866. Beth Israel adopted Reform services in 1910, and joined the Union for Reform Judaism in 1913.
Israel Friedlander, also spelled Friedlaender, was a rabbi, educator, translator, and biblical scholar. Together with Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, he was a founding adviser to a lecture series that became the Young Israel movement of Modern Orthodox Judaism.
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Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. It is the only Reform synagogue in Memphis, the oldest and largest Jewish congregation in Tennessee, and one of the largest Reform congregations in the U.S. It was founded in 1853 by mostly German Jews as Congregation B'nai Israel. Led initially by cantors, in 1858 it hired its first rabbi, Jacob Peres, and leased its first building, which it renovated and eventually purchased.
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This is a timeline of LGBT Jewish history, which consists of events at the intersection of Judaism and queer people.