Laura Duhan Kaplan

Laura Duhan Kaplan is Director of Inter-religious Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology, a faculty member at ALEPH Ordination Programs, Rabbi Emerita of Or Shalom Synagogue, and Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Follow her blog at sophiastreet.com.


Articles by Laura Duhan Kaplan

Fourteen Prayers for Peace

In 2009, President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, with a simple, moving speech. He spoke of the challenge of ...

Kingdom Without a King

First thing in the morning, I like to take a 3-block walk to the Grind Café and Gallery on Main ...

World Cat Day: A Jewish Perspective

Traditional Jewish thought sees the whole world as a laboratory for learning. On the one hand, everything has value in ...

Researching God

Theist? Atheist? Agnostic?Don’t answer until you’ve done some rigorous research.That’s right, research: with a method, literature review, experimental design, data ...

Zimmerman Verdict: Reflections on Justice and Dialogue

George Zimmerman has been found “not guilty” in the murder of Trayvon Martin. The trial was high-profile and symbolic, and ...

Who Is God? Seeking a Middle Ground

God is real. A great conversation starter, isn’t it? These days, in public debate, it seems to be a great ...

God, Our Parent: Father’s Day Reflections

When I was about twelve years old, I opened my younger brother’s textbook, just out of curiosity. This textbook from ...

Circumcision: Whose Initiation?

You may know the contemporary arguments for and against a brit milah, ritual circumcision of infant Jewish boys.For: It’s traditional. It affirms a family’s connection ...

Teach, Don’t Preach

Last week, in my role as a teacher of Judaism, I had four magnificent teaching experiences. The kind that leave ...

Finding Spiritual Meaning

A week filled with senseless public events is a good week to look for meaning.Rabbi Rachel Barenblat found meaning in ...