Aryeh Kaplan

Early life

Aryeh Kaplan was born in the Bronx, New York City to Samuel and Fannie Kaplan of the Sefardi Recanati family from Salonika, Greece. His mother, Fannie Kaplan, died on December 31, 1947 when he was 13, and his two younger sisters, Sandra and Barbara, were sent to a foster home. Kaplan was expelled from public school after acting out, leading him to grow up as a "street kid" in the Bronx.

Kaplan did not grow up religious and was known as "Len". His family only had a small connection to Jewish practice, but he was encouraged to say Kaddish for his mother. On his first day at the minyan, Henoch Rosenberg, a 14-year Klausenburger chossid, realized that Len was out of place, as he was not wearing tefillin or opening a siddur, and befriended him. Henoch Rosenberg and his siblings taught Kaplan Hebrew, and within a few days, Kaplan was learning Chumash.

When he was 15, Kaplan enrolled at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, and afterwards went to the Mir yeshiva in Brooklyn. Kaplan then studied at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem in Israel, where he received semikhah from some of Israel's foremost rabbinic authorities, including Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel in 1956.

Secular career

In the late 1950s, Kaplan went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he taught at Eliahu Academy and studied at University of Louisville, where he joined Sigma Pi Sigma, the Woodcock Society, and Phi Kappa Phi and eventually completed his bachelor's degree in Physics in 1961. While in Louisville, he met Tobie Goldstein, whom he married on June 13, 1961 and ultimately had nine children with.

Kaplan then moved to Hyattsville, Maryland to study Physics at the University of Maryland and begin his first professional position as a research scientist at the Fluid Mechanics Division of the National Bureau of Standards, where he was in charge of Magnetohydrodynamics research. During this time, he received a cooperative graduate fellowship from the National Science Foundation and the US Air Force for his graduate work at the University of Maryland. Kaplan earned his M.S. degree in physics in 1963.

Rabbinic career

In 1965 Kaplan changed careers and began practicing as a Rabbi.

Adas Israel (1965–1966)

On February 19, 1965, Kaplan moved to Mason City, Iowa, where he became the Rabbi of Adas Israel.

B'nai Sholom (1966–1967)

On August 7, 1966, Kaplan became the Rabbi at B'nai Sholom, in Blountville, Tennessee, a position he held through 1967.

Adath Israel (1967–1969)

In 1967, Kaplan became the Rabbi at Adath Israel (now known as Adath Shalom), a Conservative synagogue in Dover, New Jersey. He kept this position through 1969.

Ohav Shalom (1969–1971)

Kaplan then moved to Albany, New York, where he became the Rabbi at Ohav Shalom, a Conservative synagogue. During this time, he also functioned as the president of the AJCC (Albany Jewish Community Center) and the Hillel Counselor to the B'nai B'rith Hillel Counselorship at University at Albany, SUNY.

Brooklyn (1971–1983)

In 1971 Kaplan moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he lived until the end of his life. Kaplan didn't hold any rabbinic positions in Brooklyn, but had many other positions which involved writing and editing religious publications:

Death

Kaplan died at his home of a heart attack on January 28, 1983, at the age of 48. He was buried on the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem, Israel, off Aweiss street, in the part known as "Agudas Achim Anshei America" "Chelek Alef" (Portion 1).