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Retracing the epic journey of the world’s oldest Jew

JL;DR SUMMARY Yair Mintzker's book, "I, Wandering Jew," explores the historical evolution of the Wandering Jew motif through reverse chronological narratives, from post-independence Israel to its 16th-century origins. 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 IdentityDiasporaLegendCultural HistoryMel BrooksExileWandering JewYair MintzkerAhasverus

Places mentioned

Princeton, New Jersey, United States
"Mintzker, a Princeton history professor, has written an intriguing book that traces the legend of the Wandering Jew over the centuries in reverse chronological order, eventually to arrive at the salience of the figures story in the authors own life and times."
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
"David Lipset is professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota."
Jerusalem, Israel
"In the final chapter of his well-paced book, Mintzker turns his gaze upon himself to the meaning of the Wandering Jew in his own life as a yored, an Israeli expatriate. Mintzker was born and raised in an upper middle-class, progressive Ashkenazi family in Jerusalem, but eventually left the country to go study and then work in the United States."
Haifa, Haifa District, Israel
"The first of his five examples is set in Israel, just a few years after the nation achieved independence, when a mysterious man, known by some as Ben Shoushan, caught the attention of a journalist as he disembarked at the port of Haifa with a forged Moroccan passport that dated his birth in 1902."
Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv District, Israel
"He spent time in two religious kibbutzim near Tel Aviv."
Uruguay
"Leaving Israel in 1956, he was spotted in a Jewish community in Uruguay, where he was regarded as a Wandering Jew, an identity he apparently embraced."

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