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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:
- Dennis Prager v Cedars-Sinai Lawsuit
- Dennis Prager Through Randall Collins: Interaction Ritual Chains
- What is a ‘Received Idea’?
- Jordan Bardella: The Manufacture of Normality
- Everyone Became Television: Bourdieu’s Warning and the 2026 Iran War
- 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
- Ernest Gellner
- Eric Kaufmann: The Man Who Made the Majority Visible
- Dominic Cummings: A Biography
- Steve Lopez: The Last City Columnist
- California Historian Kevin Starr
- Stephen Kotkin: A Life in Power
- William T. Vollmann: An American Life in Excess
- Rod Dreher: A Life in Exile
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: Synagogue
Jewish vs Christian Generosity
I first heard about the “medical intuitive” in 1989 when I was struggling with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I finally met one last Rosh Hashanah at Schwartzie’s Chai Center service. She directed me to DragonHerbs.com and I’ve been vibrating ever since. … Continue reading
The Westwood Jewish Center
I had the privilege of speaking twice at this magnificent shul on Shabbos. In 2006, the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles reported: With its sparkling 24-karat gold dome and Jerusalem stone exterior, the new 25,000-square-foot Southern California Jewish Center (SCJC) … Continue reading
Posted in Synagogue
Tagged 24 karat gold, distinctive architecture, jerusalem stone, mikvahs, rabbi shimon, westwood boulevard
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Shabbaton With Luke Ford
Westwood Jewish Center: Join us for an elegant Shabbat at our state of the art banquet hall in honor of the holiday of Tu B’Av on August 3, 4. @@@@@@ FEATURED SPEAKER: Luke Ford @@@@@@@ The son of a Christian … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Synagogue
Tagged alexander technique teacher, evangelist luke, Jewish Journalism, matt labash, shabbat dinner, shabbat programs
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Former Westwood Kehilla Rabbi Joel Zeff Taking Over Sacramento Shul
One of the first shuls I went to upon moving to Los Angeles in April 1994 was the Westwood Kehilla. It was led by Rabbi Joel Zeff. For one week, I got up early and arrived at shul by 6 … Continue reading
Posted in Synagogue
Tagged chronic fatigue syndrome, Dennis Prager, joel zeff, process requires that, torah center, westwood kehilla
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Should I Leave My Tefillin Bag At Shul?
On Monday morning, I followed the custom of my friends and left my tefillin bag at shul in the aron hakodesh (holy ark). I walked home feeling anxious. What if I got up in the morning and did not want … Continue reading
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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The Whorehouse Next To Synagogue Ohel Moshe On Pico Blvd 90035
A few hours after I published about the massage parlor next to the Orthodox synagogue Beth Jacob of Beverly Hills, the whorehouse closed down. I was not aware until this evening about the whorehouse next to the Sephardic synagogue Ohel … Continue reading
Posted in Pico/Robertson, Prostitution, Synagogue
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How Shul Reminds Me Of Psycho-Analysis
I’m struck by how at age 45, I keep playing out my family dynamics in the wider world. I keep relating to people through the prism of the way I learned to relate to my parents. Shul dynamics remind me … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Psychology, Synagogue
Tagged ancient tradition, family changes, fellow jews, holy rituals, psycho analysis, psycho therapy
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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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Which Los Angeles Synagogue Hosts The Most Billionaires?
Nessah in Beverly Hills has four billionaires. Is there anyone else that comes close?
Posted in Synagogue
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