- 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:
- 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
- Strange Bedfellows in the Academy: Alliance Theory and the Straussian Schism
- Tournier on Desmond Ford
- The Fence and the Blessing: How Jews Have Thought About Gentiles
- Tournier on Luke Ford
- Tournier on The Nostradamus Kid
- An Alliance Theory of Antisemitism
- Tournier on Cinema Paradiso and Desmond Ford
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: Modern Orthodox
Why Are Modern Orthodox Rabbis Lining Up Behind A Sex Offender?
From FrumFollies: As bad as Zauder’s crimes were, perhaps, more disturbing for the community, is that when it came to the sentencing, many Modern Orthodox leaders lined up to write personal pleas for leniency. Major figureheads, including senior leaders of … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Modern Orthodox
Comments Off on Why Are Modern Orthodox Rabbis Lining Up Behind A Sex Offender?
Abortion & The Modern Orthodox
I hear that 30 years ago it was easy to adopt a Jewish child because the Modern Orthodox rarely had abortions. You just had to call a Modern Orthodox rabbi or two and they’d put you in touch with some … Continue reading
Posted in Adoption, Modern Orthodox
Comments Off on Abortion & The Modern Orthodox
Yisroel Pensack: New York City Board of Health Vote Scheduled Today on Requiring Informed Consent for Direct Oral-Genital Suction During Infant Circumcision
The New York Times reports: …part of the circumcision ritual, known in Hebrew as metzitzah b’peh [direct oral-genital suction], … is still commonplace in parts of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community but is rare in other branches of Judaism. The city estimates … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Circumcision, Conservative Judaism, Germany, Health, Modern Orthodox, New York, New York Times, Yisroel Pensack
Comments Off on Yisroel Pensack: New York City Board of Health Vote Scheduled Today on Requiring Informed Consent for Direct Oral-Genital Suction During Infant Circumcision
Can You Compare Rav Elyashiv With Reb Moshe?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro replies to my question: “Because of his political importance, Rav Elyashiv had more influence that R. Moshe, but R. Moshe also spoke to the non-haredi world. R. Elyashiv had no influence outside that world.” “R. Elyashiv’s … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Modern Orthodox
Tagged elyashiv, extreme elements, israel prize, orthodox rabbi, rabbi moshe feinstein, rabbi yosef, rabbinical authorities, reb moshe
Comments Off on Can You Compare Rav Elyashiv With Reb Moshe?
Tradition Journal’s Ignorant Claim
Tradition is a journal of Modern Orthodox thought. On its website, it claims: “It is strictly forbidden for both subscribers and article purchasers to share article downloads with others.” Forbidden by whom? It is not forbidden by secular American law … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox
Comments Off on Tradition Journal’s Ignorant Claim
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
Comments Off on Yisroel Pensack: None Dare Call It Conservadox
Modern Orthodox Demographics
In his fifth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: Modern Orthodox is larger than haredim. Modern is larger in Israel, about 20-25% of the population. The haredim are about 11%. The Modern are … Continue reading
Posted in England, Haredi, Israel, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Comments Off on Modern Orthodox Demographics
Modern Orthodox Always In For A Party
In his fifth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “In the last ten years, upsherin (party to cut for the first time a three year old boy’s hair) has become popular in the … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Hasidim, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox
Comments Off on Modern Orthodox Always In For A Party
Why Is Luke Not Married?
Greg Leake emails: Hi Luke, On the last Torah Talks at the end you asked, “Why am I not married?” Obviously, you were bouncing off the obscenity comedy that you were advancing prior to the question. I don’t know whether … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Personal
Comments Off on Why Is Luke Not Married?
How Much Secular Learning Does A Rabbi Need?
At the Hungarian Jewish Congress of December 14, 1868, German Modern Orthodox rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer said it would not be a problem if the government required rabbis to have a secular degree. That would be the law of the land … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox
Comments Off on How Much Secular Learning Does A Rabbi Need?