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"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
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- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
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- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
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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)
* 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)
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* 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)
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Category Archives: Chabad
Chabad – Judaism With Muscles
I’ve gone a lot to Chabad shuls over the past few months and they’re totally different from the Modern Orthodox shuls I am used to. For one thing, many of the Chabadniks I meet have muscles. Few Modern Orthodox Jews … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Modern Orthodox
Tagged chabad judaism, chabadnik, Modern Orthodox, orthodox jews, orthodox shuls, professional code of conduct
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Five Reasons For Chabad’s Success
Dennis Prager writes for the Jewish Journal: 4. They act happy. In the realm of religion, theological brilliance rarely comes close to a happy personality in its ability to attract (healthy) people to a given faith. The best arguments for … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Dennis Prager
Tagged chabad rabbi, cheerful demeanor, Dennis Prager, fellow jews, initial skepticism, ultra orthodox jews
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Sholom Rubashkin to Receive 27-Year Prison Sentence, Federal Judge Says
The Des Moines Register reports: Sholom Rubashkin will receive a 27-year federal prison sentence on Tuesday for his leadership in the financial fraud scandal at Agriprocessors Inc., a judge declared today. U.S. District Judge Linda Reade will impose a 324-month … Continue reading
Posted in Agriprocessors, Chabad, Kashrut
Tagged 27-year, bogus financial documents, Cedar Rapids, des moines register, false sales records, false work papers, financial fraud, illegal immigrant employees, Iowa, Judge Linda Reade, personally benefitted, postville, prison, sentenced, Sholom Rubashkin, slaughterhouse
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Yisroel Pensack: Some Thoughts on the Sentencing Hearing of Sholom Rubashkin
A sentencing hearing in the financial fraud case of former Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse manager and Lubavitcher chassid Sholom Rubashkin is scheduled to begin tomorrow (Wednesday) in federal court in Iowa. There is a concept in Judaism that each Shabbat “blesses,” … Continue reading
Posted in Agriprocessors, Chabad, Ethics, Fraud, Judaism, Kashrut, Torah, Truth, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged animal slaughter, chillul Hashem, conduit for blessing, confession, egypt, federal court, Iowa, lubavitcher, lubavitcher rebbe, Pesach sheni, Rashi, sacrificing animals, second Passover, sentencing hearing, shabbat, Sholom Rubashkin, wages, weights and measures, yom kippur
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Used Car Fraud
Yisroel Pensack posts on Failed Messiah: The original corrupt multimillion-dollar “charity” used-car fraud king was Chabad-Lubavitch “Rabbi” Bentzion Pil from San Francisco. He and his wife Mattie Plotkin even made the front page of The Wall Street Journal for their … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged business acumen, car fraud, chabad lubavitch, charity gift, charity money, jewish educational center
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Liability At Issue In Chabad Lawsuit In Nevada
Report: At the center of the Nevada case is Theressa Ramani, who filed a lawsuit in District Court in Clark County in 2003 against Chabad of Southern Nevada, Chabad of Summerlin, two rabbis and other individuals she said were affiliated … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Chabad
Tagged advocacy groups, chabad rabbi, court briefs, david frederick, orthodox synagogues, ramani
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Sholom Rubashkin Convicted of 86 Federal Charges in Fraud Scheme Involving Postville, Iowa, Kosher Meat Plant
The Des Moines Register reports: Sioux Falls, S.D. A jury has convicted Sholom Rubashkin of 86 federal charges for his part in a massive fraud scheme at his former meat plant, Agriprocessors Inc., in Postville. Jurors declared Rubashkin guilty … Continue reading
Posted in Agriprocessors, Chabad, Immigration, Yisroel Pensack
Tagged bank fraud, des moines register, federal, guilty, mail fraud, meat plant, money laundering, postville, Rabbi Shea Hecht, Sholom Rubashkin, Sioux Falls, wire fraud
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Rabbi Hecht Says Rubashkin Will Be Vindicated
From Chabad.info: Activist and President of The National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education Rabbi Shea Hecht declared on the Dov Hikind show last night that embattled businessman Sholom Rubashkin will be vindicated. Rabbi Hecht strongly argued that the Rubashkin case … Continue reading
Posted in Agriprocessors, Chabad, Rabbis
Tagged community activist, dov, furtherance, hecht, jewish education, orthodox jews
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Chabad Sues Estate Of Subprime King Roland Arnall
From the Los Angeles Business Journal: Roland Arnall became known as one of the wealthiest Angelenos thanks to the subprime mortgage industry he helped create with his company, the former Ameriquest Mortgage. He was also known for giving money to … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Roland Arnall
Tagged ameriquest mortgage, formal document, king roland, pico boulevard, Roland Arnall, subprime mortgage
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