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In an Orthodox Western, Jewish soul breaks through the tropes

JL;DR SUMMARY Guns and Moses, featuring Mark Feuerstein as Rabbi Mo Zaltzman, challenges typical Jewish stereotypes in Western films by portraying the rabbi as a determined investigator who becomes adept at defending his community in High Desert, California. 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 CommunityJewish RepresentationNeo NazisSelf DefenseSalvador LitvakWestern FilmsGuns And MosesMark FeuersteinRabbi Mo Zaltzman

Places mentioned

High Desert, California, United States
"Instead of being outsiders, Zaltzman and his congregants seem at home in the fictional town of High Desert, California."
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
"I was thrown back to 2019, after the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh."

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Cairo Item ID 57725
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-07-25 05:30:59 UTC
Curated 2025-07-25 08:32:34 UTC