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If the walls in this Crown Heights house could talk, they’d speak Yiddish

JL;DR SUMMARY Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, known for his role in the digital outreach of Chabad, discovered Yiddish newspapers used as insulation while renovating his 1920s-era home in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. 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 HistoryYiddishJewish CommunityChabadLubavitcher RebbeCrown HeightsRenovationJewish NewspapersMordechai LightstoneTechtribe

Places mentioned

Crown Heights, New York, United States
"Mordechai Lightstone and his wife, Chana, are renovating their house in Brooklyns Crown Heights removing walls in the living room, dining room and hallway so theyll have plenty of space for guests when they are able to start hosting visitors again."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"In his childhood home in Los Angeles, his parents found newspapers stuffed underneath the floorboards from the early 20th century, advertising cars for $300 (about $9,500 today still a bargain!)."

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Cairo Item ID 60682
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-09-04 05:31:27 UTC
Curated 2025-09-04 08:30:52 UTC