Daniel Lee Kaplan

Daniel Kaplan, son of the late Dr. Louis Kaplan and Etta Kaplan, grew up in Baltimore and attended Johns Hopkins University. He then attended Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where he studied to become a Rabbi, which was his chosen profession for close to 50 years. He served congregations in Worcester, Needham, Melrose, Sharon and Stoughton and finally started his own, Congregation Klal Yisrael (now Temple Kol Tikvah) in Sharon, MA. He served as President of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. In 1985, he received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity after twenty-five years in the rabbinate. He mentored many Rabbis and Cantors throughout his years as a pulpit rabbi. In 2004, he retired from Congregation Klal Yisrael.

His passion was teaching - particularly adults and teens. He often provided workshops to the teens in the Reform Movement and taught several confirmation classes to the 10th graders at Temple Sinai in Sharon, offering thought provoking assignments. He wanted his students to be critical thinkers. He also facilitated numerous adult retreats while at Congregation Klal Yisrael.

He was active in the Jewish-Catholic dialogue at Stonehill College in Easton, MA for twenty-five years and also was a professor of a course entitled “History and the Holocaust” there for a few years.

Dan loved classical music. He made an annual pilgrimage to Tanglewood in the Berkshires and always listened to classical music on the radio. For many years, he had an annual subscription to concerts at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

He was an avid reader and was particularly drawn to issues and writings on religion and science. He played bridge for decades and enjoyed the mental stimulation. He enjoyed telling puns and could riff with anyone. Even at the end, his humor remained intact.

Rabbi Kaplan loved to travel and planned many trips to Spain, Australia, Israel, Mexico, Panama, Alaska, the Caribbean, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

For 26 years, he was married to Arleen Kulin, with whom he had two children, Jennifer and Jonathan.

Dan is survived by his wife of 24 years Barbara, his daughter Jennifer Kaplan and daughter-in-law Susie Tanchel of Newton, his son Jonathan Kaplan and his wife Tori of Jacksonville, FL, his sister Deborah Potts and her husband Efrem of Baltimore, his brother-in-law Stanley Litchman and his wife Lisa of Framingham. He also leaves his precious granddaughters Jordana and Charlotte. He also leaves many nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends.

The funeral will be held at Temple Kol Tikvah (former Congregation Klal Yisrael), 9 Dunbar Street Sharon, MA on Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 11:30 AM. Interment will be at Sharon Memorial Park.

Memorial observance will be held at his late residence following the interment and on Monday and Tuesday and at the home of Jen & Susie beginning Monday and ending Thursday.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in his memory may be made to Mazon.org or to the New Israel Fund.