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A requiem for the backyard minyan

JL;DR SUMMARY In Los Angeles, the pandemic led to a creative form of worship for Orthodox Jews, as long-standing community traditions like in-person minyans were upended by COVID-19 restrictions. 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

Jewish TraditionOrthodox JudaismCovid 19 PandemicMinyanLos AngelesJewish ResiliencePandemic AdaptationsOutdoor ServicesBackyard MinyanCommunity Prayer

Places mentioned

Los Angeles, California, United States
"On the other side of the old wood fence in the rear of my parents Los Angeles backyard I could hear a young man reading from the Torah, and people reciting kaddish, and everything else that distinguished an authentic prayer service from the solitary ritual Id grown accustomed to since the stores ran out of paper towels."
Israel
"a common sight outside shuls in early evening, but also on flights to Israel or during Jewish community night at the ballpark had become a community-wide state of mind."
Beverly Hills, California, United States
"Rose, a former synagogue president of Beth Jacob Congregation, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Beverly Hills, had tried to mimic the old Beth Jacob Shabbat experience in his yard."

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Cairo Item ID 57225
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-07-18 05:31:53 UTC
Curated 2025-07-18 08:31:12 UTC