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Why Jews bury books like they bury the dead

JL;DR SUMMARY Rabbi Daniel Cohen explores the Jewish tradition of burying sacred texts, such as prayer books and Torah scrolls, when they become unusable. 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 TraditionCairo GenizahSacred TextsRabbi Abraham Joshua HeschelHolinessJewish Burial CustomsLegacyDeuteronomyGenizahShemot

Places mentioned

White Oak, Pennsylvania, United States
"When Temple Bnai Israel in White Oak, Pennsylvania closed down in 2025, Rabbi Howie Stein buried the remaining yahrzeit plaques and other Jewish objects at the synagogues cemetery."
Cairo, Egypt
"The most famous genizah in history was discovered in the 1750s, tucked inside the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo."
Stamford, Connecticut, United States
"Daniel Cohen is the senior rabbi of Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, Connecticut."

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Cairo Item ID 55816
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-06-30 05:31:06 UTC
Curated 2025-06-30 08:30:56 UTC