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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
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- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
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- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
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- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
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- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
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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)
* 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)
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Category Archives: Modern Orthodox
Why Aren’t Yeshiva Bocherim (Students) Working With The Homeless And Davening With Black People?
"That’s not what yeshiva students do," says historian Dr. Marc Shapiro in his second lecture on Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook for Torah in Motion. "Rav Elazar Schach was opposed to kiruv (outreach). That was the standard charedi position. The Brisker … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Tagged davening, kiruv, marc shapiro, torah in motion, torah study, yeshiva students, yeshiva world
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Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Is A Bad Joke
From Dr. Marc B. Shapiro‘s first lecture on Rav Isser Yehuda Unterman for Torah in Motion: "The chief rabbinate [of Israel] in the days of Rav [Abraham Isaac] Kook and Rav [Benzion Meir Hai] Uziel and Rav Unterman was the … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Israel, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Tagged chief rabbinate, norman lamm, rav kook, supreme religious authority, torah in motion, torah scholar
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Almost Every Gadol Of The Early 20th Century Had A Child Who Left The Path
In his third lecture on Rav Elazar Schach for Torah in Motion, historian Marc B. Shapiro says that Rav Schach’s son became a religious Zionist aka Modern Orthodox as opposed to Chareidi aka traditional Orthodox (who are not Zionists, don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Israel, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Tagged lubavitcher rebbe, Marc B. Shapiro, marc shapiro, rabbi moshe, religious zionist, torah in motion, torah scholars, torah study, two generations
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The Rabbis Plan To Raise Ethical Awareness At Work
I’ve yet to hear of the rabbis ever asking any worker if there was a need for their ethics initiative. It sounds to me like this is an entirely top-down initiative. Rabbi Daniel Korobkin writes in the Jewish Journal: Peulat … Continue reading
Posted in Daniel Korobkin, Ethics, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Pico/Robertson, Rabbis
Tagged covenant agreement, ethics initiative, overtime wages, public affirmation, rabbi daniel, sachir
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Divorce Protest In Los Angeles
Rebecca Spence writes for the Forward: Los Angeles — On the day known as Ta’anit Esther — when observant Jews fast before Purim — more than 150 members of Los Angeles’s close-knit Orthodox community gathered for a protest rally outside … Continue reading
Posted in Beth Jacob, Divorce, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, R. Steven Weil, R. Yosef Kanefsky
Tagged chained women, jewish divorce, orthodox community, protest rally, rebecca spence, thorny subject
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Rabbis Ethics Initiative Hits Pico-Robertson
The Jewish Journal reports: But Peulat Sachir organizers are preparing for a wave of criticism nonetheless. Much of the debate over the initiative revolves around one question: Is labor ethics a Jewish issue? Fine, the owner of Pat’s Restaurant and … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Modern Orthodox
Tagged correct business, ethics initiative, jewish issue, light unto the nations, observant jew, pico boulevard
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The Jewish Obsession With Law
So here’s a copy of the new letter Pico-Robertson’s Modern Orthodox rabbis are sending to local businesses owned by Jews. Will this high profile campaign do any good or will it only make rabbis feel good for grandstanding on a … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Modern Orthodox
Tagged capitalist perspective, communal awareness, hostile work environment, labor law compliance, orthodox rabbis, sachir, torah law
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LA’s Modern Orthodox Rabbis Launch Ethical Business Certification
Here’s the press release: March 1, 2009 will mark the launching of Peulat Sachir: The Ethical Labor Initiative. (Peulat Sachir is Hebrew for “the worker’s wage”.) Founded by several L.A. Orthodox rabbis in conjunction with leaders in the business and … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Modern Orthodox, Pico/Robertson
Tagged beth jacob congregation, judea congregation, nai david, orthodox rabbis, rabbi elazar, rabbi yosef
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Rabbi Emmanuel Rackman Is Still Ahead Of The Times
Thirty five years ago, the presidency of Yeshiva University almost went to intellectual Emmanuel Rackman. In a few years, it will likely go to administrator Steven Weil. Rabbi Jack Riemer writes in The Jewish Week: Rabbi Rackman is still ahead … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox
Tagged emanuel rackman, liberal jews, rabbi emanuel, rabbi jack riemer, yeshiva students, Yeshiva University
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Why Didn’t Rabbi Daniel Korobkin Make The Cut At Beth Jacob?
Because he did not apply. Rabbi Korobkin was the runner-up to Steven Weil in the 2000 search for a successor to Abner Weiss. He did not throw his hat in the ring this go round. By temperament, Rabbi Korobkin is … Continue reading
Posted in Daniel Korobkin, Modern Orthodox
Tagged Abner Weiss, Beth Jacob, elazar, orthodox jew, orthodox rabbis, rabbi daniel
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