Society for the Advancement of Judaism

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Society for the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ)
The SAJ Synagogue W86 cloudy jeh.jpg
The SAJ synagogue in Manhattan
Religion
Affiliation Reconstructionist Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status Synagogue
Leadership
StatusActive
Location
Location15 West 86th Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City
CountryUnited States
Location map United States Manhattan 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Manhattan
Geographic coordinates 40°47′09″N73°58′12″W / 40.785798°N 73.970121°W / 40.785798; -73.970121
Architecture
Founder Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan
Date established1922
Website
www.thesaj.org

The Society for the Advancement of Judaism, also known as SAJ, is a Reconstructionist synagogue and Jewish organization in New York City, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Founded in 1922 by Mordecai M. Kaplan, the rabbi who founded Reconstructionist Judaism, the synagogue is affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement.

Contents

The current rabbi is Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, who succeeded Michael Strassfeld on July 1, 2015. [1]

History

SAJ was founded by Mordecai Kaplan in order to put into practice his conception of Judaism as an evolving civilization. [2] At the dedication of SAJ's new building in 1926, Kaplan explained the goals of the Reconstructionist Movement in general and the SAJ in particular in the form of the "Thirteen Wants" [3]

The first American Bat Mitzvah was held at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism on Saturday morning, March 18, 1922, for Judith Kaplan, daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. [4]

In 1927 the board of SAJ voted to replace the Kol Nidre prayer with Psalm 150 in the liturgy for the Yom Kippur service. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan justified the change, arguing that the actual text of Kol Nidre was overly legalistic and not in keeping with the spirit of the Yom Kippur holiday. [5] Lack of satisfaction from congregants later pushed Rabbi Kaplan to restore the recitation of Kol Nidre. [6] However, despite reintroducing Kol Nidre, Rabbi Kaplan added a line to the prayer that specified that only vows that "estrange ourselves from those who have offended us, or to give pain to those who have angered us" should be annulled by the recitation. [7]

In 1945, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, along with Rabbis Ira Eisenstein and Eugene Kohn published the "Sabbath Prayer Book." The publication of this siddur led the Union of Orthodox Rabbis to issue a herem against Rabbi Kaplan. [8] In the wake of this controversy, Rabbi Kaplan gave a lecture at SAJ entitled "Excommunication vs. Freedom of Worship" and advertised it in the New York Times. [9] The herem also caused controversy for the synagogue including causing one of the secretaries at to resign. [9]

After Michael Strassfeld became the Rabbi at SAJ in 2001, SAJ ended its dual affiliation with the Reconstructionist and Conservative movements, becoming solely affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, now Reconstructing Judaism. [10]

Notable clergy and members

Clergy

Former Rabbis

Former Cantors

Notable Current or Former Members

References

  1. ↑ "The SAJ Welcomes Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann". thesaj.org. September 8, 2015. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015. Rabbi Lauren began her term on July 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ Eisenstein, Miriam (April 26, 2022). "The Founding of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ) Was Significant: Not Primarily Because of the 'First Bat Mitzvah' - Evolve". Evolve. Reconstructing Judaism. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  3. ↑ Archive, Internet Sacred Text. "The Thirteen Wants | Sacred Texts Archive". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  4. ↑ Lusk, Isabelle (March 1, 2022). "What the First Bat Mitzvah in the U.S. Looked Like". Teen Vogue. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  5. ↑ Soclof, Adam (September 25, 2012). "The case against Kol Nidre". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  6. ↑ Weissman Joselit, Jenna (October 7, 2011). "Tough to Put the Kibosh on Kol Nidre". The Forward. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  7. ↑ Kieval, Herman (September 14, 2010). "The Curious Case of Kol Nidre - Diario Judío México". Diario Judio de Mexico (in Spanish). Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Prof. Mordecai M. Kaplan "excommunicated" by Orthodox Rabbis, His Prayer Book Burned". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Silver, Zachary (2010). "The Excommunication of Mordecai Kaplan" (PDF). American Jewish Achives Journal. 62 (1): 33.{{cite journal}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  10. ↑ Strassfeld, Michael (July 27, 2022). "Reconstructing the Society for the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ) - Evolve". Evolve. Reconstructing Judiasm. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  11. ↑ Moses, Jeremy. "Ira Eisenstein". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  12. ↑ Pipitone, Rachel Forth (November 24, 2021). "In Memoriam - Reconstructing Judaism" . Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Judith Kaplan Celebrates First American Bat Mitzvah Ceremony". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Schick, Akiva (September 29, 2025). "Jerusalem Holiday". Jewish Review of Books. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Arnold Richards | Yiddish Book Center". www.yiddishbookcenter.org. Retrieved October 22, 2025.

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