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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:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
BEST POSTS:
- * 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)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* 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)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Chabad
Israel’s Crackdown On Right-Wing Publications
The Jewish Press writes: Rabbi Hanan Herbst, a Chabad emissary and resident of Ma’ale Levona in the Binyamin region who returned with his wife and children Thursday morning from half a year of outreach work in India, was arrested at … Continue reading
LA’s Chabad Rabbi Comic
From Wikipedia: Mendy Pellin is a Hassidic comic with a web-based satirical news show called The Mendy Report. Pellin was born to a Hassidic family in Denver, CO. He spent most of his childhood growing up in Crown Heights, NY, … Continue reading
The World Of Chabad-Lite
Chabad is an elite religion. It has long prided itself as the most intellectual of the Hasidim, the group most devoted to Torah study. Over the past 40 years, Chabad has devoted itself to outreach and it is easy to … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Haredi, Hasidim, Kabbalah Centre
Tagged friends and neighbors, jewish practice, lubavitcher, military fatigues, special ops, torah study
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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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Child Sex Abuse Case In Australia Comes To America
Two thoughts: * This story illustrates why the Forward is the premiere Jewish news publication in the diaspora. * Consider the eery parallels to the sexual molestation situation at Beis Midrash Toras HaShem in North Hollywood. Email: The following note … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Australia, Chabad, Orthodoxy
Tagged child sex abuse, david kramer, don wolf, laibl wolf, rabbi meir, sex abuse case
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How Do Chabad Guys Do It?
I keep meeting Chabad guys with no money and no college degree and yet they’re married to young women who look like models. How do they do it? Chaim Amalek emails: “Also, HOW DO THEY DO IT? I remember as … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad
Tagged beautiful woman, brainwashing, hebrew school, school teachers, spiritual successor, torah study
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Chabad Shuls Host The Most Diverse Crowd On Yom Kippur
In popular mythology, Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. In most shuls, you have to be a member (or buy a special ticket) to attend these services. Most Jews only go to shul twice a year … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad
Tagged chabadnik, high holiday prayer book, observant jew, observant jews, personal transformation, secular jews
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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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Unity For Justice For Sholom Rubashkin
The Wikipedia entries on Sholom Rubashkin and Agriprocessors.
Posted in Agriprocessors, Chabad
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The Queer Frum Orthodox Chasidic Mother Of Eight Novelist
Somebody tried to set me up with this woman. Then I did my research and found out she was queer. So I just asked for an interview instead. Goldie said yes. We exchanged a bunch of emails trying to nail … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Jewish Literature
Tagged chicago jewish news, lubavitcher rebbe, orthodox jew, synagogue life, three girls
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