A Yiddish word simply meaning in translation "Jewishness" but encompassing an entire way of life, from mundane to mystical, all intertwined together.

This concept is useful to avoid the false distinction between "religion" and "spirituality" that is alien to Hasidic thought (keeping in mind that there is no word for "religion" in classical Hebrew) that many gentiles imagine when pondering a seemingly practical (and distinctly non-spiritual) matter such as eating lobster or walking more than four steps without wearing a piece of cloth on the head.

This could be described as "Jew culture," but there remains so much variety among the international Jewish communities that that term would be misleading.

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