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The Unbearable Lightness of Exile

JL;DR SUMMARY David Kraemer's book, Embracing Exile: The Case for Jewish Diaspora, explores the positive aspects of the Jewish diaspora throughout history. 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

TalmudJewish TraditionJewish IdentityZionismDiasporaExileLiteratureBiblical History

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"Kraemer has written a series of monographs on the history and literature of the Talmud. This book is aimed at a wider audience, which it may actually reach. It won a coveted spot on The New Yorkers Best Books of 2025 list."
Jerusalem, Israel
"The religious prayed for God to ingather the exiles and restore them to Jerusalem, visionaries dreamed up utopias where Jews would finally belong."
Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
"When, some decades ago, Kraemer was a junior at Brandeis on a year-abroad program in Israel, he attended a Shavuot event in Jerusalem and was subjected to Zionist sermonizing from recent American olim"
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Retrieved 2026-03-26 05:32:11 UTC
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