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Spirituality or intellectualism? An age-old High Holiday debate

JL;DR SUMMARY The High Holidays prompt an ongoing debate between spirituality and intellectualism within Jewish communities. 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 TraditionHigh HolidaysBaal Shem TovOrthodox JudaismReform JudaismTorah StudyCommunitySpiritualityVilna GaonIntellectualism

Places mentioned

Beth Am, Pennsylvania, United States
"At Beth Am in Pennsylvania, Reform Rabbi Robert Leib has seen how different motivations bring people through the doors."
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States
"Rabbi Binyomin Davis, who leads an Orthodox congregation, Aish Chaim, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, frames his approach differently."
Palestinian Territories
"is how best to address the two elephants in the room: the Israel-Gaza war abroad and an increasingly polarized, fragmented populace at home."

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Retrieved 2025-09-12 05:31:10 UTC
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