Eugene Kohn

Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1887, Eugene Kohn was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1912 after earning his B.A. from New York University in 1907. During his seminary years he came under the influence of Mordecai Kaplan, a connection that would define much of his later work.

Kohn served congregations in several American cities before becoming closely associated with the Reconstructionist movement. He was known not only as a rabbi but also as a writer and editor, helping develop and explain Reconstructionist ideas for readers who were interested in a Judaism that could speak to modern life.

Over the years, he published books and essays on Jewish belief, practice, and community, and became one of the important interpreters of Reconstructionism in the United States. He died in 1977, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both scholarship and a strong desire to make religious thought usable in everyday life.