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At ‘March Madness for Jews,’ the joy and ambition of modern Orthodoxy

JL;DR SUMMARY The annual Sarachek basketball tournament at Yeshiva University showcases the vibrant intersection of modern Orthodoxy and American sports culture. 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

Yeshiva UniversityTraditionAmerican Jewish LifeCommunityBasketballModern OrthodoxySports CultureSarachek TournamentHigh School AthleticsRed Sarachek

Places mentioned

Washington Heights, New York, United States
"Like hundreds of other students from across the country, Yaakov Gelfond had made the trip to Washington Heights to support his school's team;"
Bergen County, New Jersey, United States
"Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC), was playing later that afternoon."
Houston, Texas, United States
"Abe Behar flew in from Houston with Robert M. Beren Academy — he’s the team’s sixth man."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"Rabbi Ari Segal, the former head of Shalhevet High School, in Los Angeles, played at Sarachek in the 1990s."
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
"a player from Fuchs Mizrachi School, a Cleveland-area yeshiva, picked up a loose ball at halfcourt and raced the other direction."
Riverdale, New York, United States
"SAR and DRS hail from Riverdale and Woodmere, respectively — both New York strongholds of Orthodox life."
Woodmere, New York, United States
"SAR and DRS hail from Riverdale and Woodmere, respectively — both New York strongholds of Orthodox life."

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Cairo Item ID 59852
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-08-22 05:31:30 UTC
Curated 2025-08-22 08:30:57 UTC