- https://PayPal.Me/lukeisback
"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
Inside Northridge’s Conservative Shul Ramat Zion
The Jewish Advocate of Boston reports Dec. 30, 2004: WHEN Congregation Mishkan Tefila of Chestnut Hill gathers next fall for the High Holy days, Rabbi Michael Menitoff will not be leading their services for the first time in 13 years. … Continue reading
Posted in Rabbis, Ramat Zion, Synagogue
Tagged bob rosen, conservative shul, conservative synagogue, rabbi michael graetz, rabbi steven tucker, temple ramat zion
Comments Off on Inside Northridge’s Conservative Shul Ramat Zion
Looking For An Orthodox Shul Friendly To Converts?
I get this email: “I was looking at your site and saw that you are a convert to Judaism. I am looking to convert to Judaism. Can you recommend a friendly Orthodox Shul for me to try and get into … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Synagogue
Tagged converts, downey ca, Judaism, judea, orthodox shul
Comments Off on Looking For An Orthodox Shul Friendly To Converts?
The Most Racially Diverse LA Synagogue?
I got this email: "I just came across your shul reviews and was wondering which LA synagogue has the most racial diversity. I am Black and Jewish and thinking about moving to LA, so I would really like to know … Continue reading
Three Modes For Paying For Shuls
Orthodox rabbi Gil Student writes: In general, there are three basic models for charging synagogue dues: Flat Fee — The first is to make it affordable to just about everybody so that all members pay the same amount. Then, because … Continue reading
Posted in Synagogue
Tagged chinese auctions, fundraising campaigns, gil student, orthodox rabbi, schuls, synagogue dues
Comments Off on Three Modes For Paying For Shuls
Synagogues Employ Extra Security Measures For Shabbat
Until I was 20, I used to go to church almost every Sabbath. I never recall security guards. Yet I have almost never been to a shul on Shabbat that did not have a security guard. Here’s the email from … Continue reading
Posted in Synagogue
Tagged adam horowitz, armed guard, Beth Jacob, extra security, front doors, peace activist, responsible manner, shabbat, shul, Young Israel
Comments Off on Synagogues Employ Extra Security Measures For Shabbat
Economy Drives Shul Merges
There’s no longer a significant difference between Reform and Conservative Judaism so why not merge these two movements as well? Attorney Anita Susan Brenner writes: This week, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the leader of the Union for Reform Judaism, suggested that … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, Synagogue
Tagged Conservative Judaism, palm springs california, reform synagogues, temple isaiah, union for reform judaism, yiddish speakers
Comments Off on Economy Drives Shul Merges
Meltdown
I have a friend who wants to convert to Judaism. I arrange for her to meet me at shul Friday night. "Can I wear pants?" she asks. Yeah. "Can I drive?" Yeah. "Do I have to cover my arms?" No. … Continue reading
Posted in Synagogue
Tagged jewish man, orthodox shul, pico blvd, shabbos, shiksas, Yarmulke
Comments Off on Meltdown
My First Synagogue Home
I’d been to other synagogues, but Ohev Shalom in Orlando, Florida, was the first one I called home. I was a regular there during my eight months in town (from Aug. 1993 to March 1994). For most of that time, … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Judaism, Rabbis, Synagogue
Tagged chronic fatigue syndrome, conservative shul, how to tie a tie, new girlfriend, rabbi emeritus, social inhibitions
Comments Off on My First Synagogue Home
Studio City’s Congregation Beth Meier
From the Los Angeles Daily News: STUDIO CITY – The "house of light" – Congregation Beth Meier in Studio City – will consider the dark when it observes the Jewish holiday of Tisha b’Av next week. At Beth Meier, the … Continue reading
Posted in Studio City, Synagogue
Tagged beth meier, book of lamentations, prophet jeremiah, rabbi aaron, rabbi meier schimmel, traditional conservative synagogue
Comments Off on Studio City’s Congregation Beth Meier
‘Many Non-Jews Regard This Psalm As Sacred’
During the third meal of the Sabbath (when the sun is going down Saturday evening), traditional Jews sing the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew (along with Yedid Nefesh and the Grace After Meals). Now picture an Orthodox shul where everyone’s enjoying … Continue reading
Posted in Synagogue
Tagged bible scholar, Dennis Prager, herman wouk, john updike, morning prayers, orthodox shul
Comments Off on ‘Many Non-Jews Regard This Psalm As Sacred’