This retrospective essay presents a personal memoir of Mordecai M. Kaplan's pedagogical approach and intellectual influence at the Jewish Theological Seminary during the mid-1950s. Drawing on first-hand observations as a rabbinical student, the author employs qualitative narrative methodology to examine Kaplan's teaching philosophy and its impact on Conservative Judaism. The study reveals Kaplan's unwavering commitment to intellectual honesty and consistency in religious practice, particularly his opposition to compartmentalized thinking that separated scientific knowledge from religious belief. Key findings include Kaplan's emphasis on Judaism as a "religious civilization" rather than merely a creedal system, demonstrated through his pedagogical technique of highlighting the disconnect between synagogue membership and Jewish identity among prominent twentieth-century Jewish figures. The analysis documents Kaplan's transformation from a confrontational educator in his earlier years to a more tempered but equally rigorous teacher in his seventies. The author concludes that Kaplan's influence extended beyond academic scholarship to fundamentally reshape American Jewish identity, arguing that his impact on individual students and the broader Jewish community represents a "Newtonian change" in Jewish self-understanding that prioritized intellectual integrity over traditional orthodoxy.