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A new documentary shows what it looks like when Hasidic education fails

JL;DR SUMMARY The new documentary, "Unorthodox Education," examines the contentious issue of secular education in New York's yeshivas, particularly those serving Haredi communities. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HarediNew YorkDocumentaryJewish ValuesYeshivasSecular EducationEducation ReformReligious SchoolsCommunity ChallengesPersonal Stories

Places mentioned

Brooklyn, New York, United States
"A yeshiva school bus in Brooklyn."
New York City, New York, United States
"Pollak grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, where she attended a high school affiliated with the Belz Hasidim, one of several different Hasidic sects that dominate different neighborhoods in New York City."
Manhattan, New York, United States
"Unorthodox Education begins a two-week run at Cinema Village in Manhattan on Sep. 19, and the 40-minute film leaves little doubt where it stands on the contentious issue."
Kiryas Joel, New York, United States
"I grew up in a Hasidic Jewish extreme cult called Kiryas Joel."
New Square, New York, United States
"Our schools are doing just fine, our children are doing just fine and our communities are doing just fine, declared New York State Assemblyman Aron Wieder, a yeshiva graduate whose Rockland County district includes the Haredi hamlets of New Square and Monsey."
Monsey, New York, United States
"Our schools are doing just fine, our children are doing just fine and our communities are doing just fine, declared New York State Assemblyman Aron Wieder, a yeshiva graduate whose Rockland County district includes the Haredi hamlets of New Square and Monsey."
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
"Rabbi Yaakov Menken of Baltimore told me; he serves as chief executive officer of the Coalition for Jewish Values, a rabbinic policy organization."

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Retrieved 2025-09-19 05:30:51 UTC
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