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Breaching the Walls of History

JL;DR SUMMARY Dan Rabinowitz explores the controversy sparked by Rabbi Michoel Sorotzkin's impassioned criticism of his report on the Brisker Rov's visit to the Strashun Library in Vilna. 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

VilnaHaredi CommunityHistorical NarrativeRabbinic LeadershipBrisker RovStrashun LibraryJewish Intellectual LifeArchival ResearchYitzhak Zeev SoloveitchikRabbi Michoel Sorotzkin

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"closure of haredi yeshiva day schools in New York City, or the Israeli governments attempts to draft haredim into the military."
Israel
"closure of haredi yeshiva day schools in New York City, or the Israeli governments attempts to draft haredim into the military."
Vilnius, Vilnius County, Lithuania
"My mornings begin with a thirty-minute walk to Lithuanias National Library."
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
"Rav Pinchas Hirschprung, who would later serve as chief rabbi of Montreal."
Tel Aviv District, Israel
"he wanted to support his position that they should not go to America because of the spiritual danger, the Brisker Rov turned to a passage he remembered from Maimonidess Iggeret ha-shemad."
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Cairo Item ID 78549
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Retrieved 2026-03-26 05:41:55 UTC
Curated 2026-03-26 08:32:23 UTC