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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
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- What is a ‘Received Idea’?
- Jordan Bardella: The Manufacture of Normality
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- Marine Le Pen
- The Coalition-Proximity Rule
- Nigel Farage
- Bernard Haykel: A Life Between the Text and the Gun
- Walker Connor (1926-2017)
- Benedict Anderson and the Nation as Imagination
- Anthony D. Smith: The Student Who Kept the Question and Rejected the Answer
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- Dominic Cummings: A Biography
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- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
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* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
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Author Archives: Yisroel Pensack
Yisroel Pensack: New York City Board of Health Vote Scheduled Today on Requiring Informed Consent for Direct Oral-Genital Suction During Infant Circumcision
The New York Times reports: …part of the circumcision ritual, known in Hebrew as metzitzah b’peh [direct oral-genital suction], … is still commonplace in parts of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community but is rare in other branches of Judaism. The city estimates … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Circumcision, Conservative Judaism, Germany, Health, Modern Orthodox, New York, New York Times, Yisroel Pensack
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Yisroel Pensack: None Dare Call It Conservadox
Practically around the corner from where I live is a big old synagogue called Congregation Chevra Thilim that describes itself as “San Francisco’s oldest Orthodox congregation.” Chevra Thilim is currently undergoing a $1.6-million, months-long renovation, upgrade and expansion of its social hall building, which is … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Conservative Judaism, Conservatives, Dovid Eliezrie, Judaism, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, San Francisco, Synagogue, Torah, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged "politically incorrect" blessings, $1.6 million, building on shabbos, burials, chabad lubavitch, congregation beth sholom, Congregation Chevra Thilim, Conservadox, David Kimel, gil student, kohanim, meis mitzvah, R. David Eliezrie, R. Shimon Margolin, R. Shlomo Zarchi, R. Yosef Langer, social hall, yetzer hara
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Yisroel Pensack: Work to Begin Tomorrow on $1.6 Million Upgrade of San Francisco Orthodox Synagogue’s Social Hall Building
Congregation Chevra Thilim, which describes itself as “San Francisco’s oldest Orthodox congregation,” has announced that construction will begin tomorrow on a $1.6 million project to renovate and upgrade its large social hall building. The project, expected to be mostly completed by next September in time for Rosh Hashanah, will include a new floor and ceiling, a … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, San Francisco, Synagogue, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged $1.6 million, Congregation Chevra Thilim, social hall, upgrade
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Yisroel Pensack: A Timely Tax Alternative Surfaces Amid U.S. Fiscal Stalemate
The New York Times is running a feature today on Henry George, the 19th-century political economist, [who] spent his seminal years in San Francisco. He is no longer a household name, and his “land-value taxation” theory is probably among the … Continue reading
Posted in California, Henry George, New York Times, San Francisco, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged Bay Citizen, Elizabeth Lesly Stevens, fiscal stalemate, Georgism, Joshua Vincent, land value tax, leo tolstoy, monopoly, property taxes, Prophet of San Francisco, Proposition 13, single-tax principle, Sun Yat-Sen, tax policy, Willie L. Brown Jr., winston churchill
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Yisroel Pensack: San Francisco ‘Chabad House’ Averts Foreclosure
A San Francisco Chabad center and synagogue that was recently the focus of a fund appeal letter seeking to raise $55,000 by June 9 is now “out of the foreclosure” process, according to Rabbi Ahron Hecht, the center’s director. “I am now working … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Charity, San Francisco, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged foreclosure, property tax, Rabbi Ahron Hecht, Richmond Torah Center
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Yisroel Pensack: Heat From Ex-Porn Star Connection May Cook Weiner
Celebrity news website TMZ.com is running a story which, if true, could put Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) political career to bed for awhile. In an article headlined “Weiner Told Porn Star to Lie, Offered PR Help,” TMZ says “Weiner and former porn star Ginger … Continue reading
Posted in TMZ.com, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged ginger lee, professional PR advice, proposed statement, Rep. Anthony Weiner, sexual emails
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Yisroel Pensack: Longtime Editor-Publisher of Northern California’s ‘j.’ Weekly to Retire
Marc S. Klein, longtime editor and publisher of San Francisco-based j., the Jewish news weekly of Northern California, is planning to retire. “I’ll be leaving probably sometime in the fall. I’m exhausted…I asked to leave and the board made it possible,” Klein … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Jewish Journalism, San Francisco, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged editor and publisher, j, Jewish news weekly, luke ford, Marc S. Klein, northern california, Northern California Jewish Bulletin, retirement
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