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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:
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- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
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- 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
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- Tournier on Luke Ford
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- An Alliance Theory of Antisemitism
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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)
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* 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: Modern Orthodox
Is The Shulchan Aruch The Jewish Constitution?
One frequently given definition of an Orthodox Jew is one who abides by the 15th Century code of Jewish law — the Shulchan Aruch. In his third lecture on Rabbi Abraham Samuel Sofer (Ketav Sofer) for Torah in Motion, Orthodox … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
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The Apprenticeship Of Luke Ford
I was listening to Dennis Prager’s radio show today. He’d just returned from his fifth trip to Australia, my homeland. Dennis said that Australia was over-regulated and rather reserved. An American woman phones in. “Australians are reserved. Timid. When I … Continue reading
Posted in Adventist, Jews, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged Anti-Semitism, apprenticeship of duddy kravitz, Dennis Prager, jewish experience, luke ford, seventh day adventists
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The Haredi Obsession With Bugs
Jonah Lowenfeld writes in this week’s Jewish Journal: The presence of even one whole bug, dead or alive, can render an entire vegetable treif — unkosher. On this matter, Orthodox rabbis are unequivocal. “From a Torah perspective, eating a Big … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Kashrut, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, RCC
Tagged fruits and vegetables, kosher information bureau, orthodox rabbis, rabbi eliezer, rabbinical council of california, torah perspective
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The Modern Orthodox Walk Of Shame
From YUBeacon.com: Adjusting the clasp on my Hadaya necklace, I finally take in my whole reflection in the bathroom mirror. My transformation from Occasionally-Cute-Modern-Orthodox-Girl into Sexually-Appealing-Secular-Woman: complete. I had managed to startle myself so much that I rush to cover … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Sex
Tagged bathroom mirror, peacoat, room key, stella artois, walk of shame, Yarmulke
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Your Spiritual Leader
I remember a few years ago, I was davening at this Modern Orthodox shul and the rabbi got up and said to the congregation, “When you chose me as your spiritual leader…” And I thought, “What the hell? I never … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager, Modern Orthodox
Tagged columbia community, cornell community, cornell students, Dennis Prager, heterosexual community, orthodox shul
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Women’s Prayer Groups Are Passe
In a 2010 lecture on R. Joseph Messas and R. Avraham Shapiro, Marc B. Shapiro (no relation) says that the Sephardim have always had a positive view of the return to Israel. Sephardim have never been anti-Zionist. Rav Messas wrote … Continue reading
Posted in Feminism, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Tagged Marc B. Shapiro, mechitza, prayer groups, rabbi avi weiss, sefer torah, traditional judaism, upper west side
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The Modern Orthodox – Haredi Split
Marc B. Shapiro writes: In Europe, every small town had a rav. Sometimes the rav was an adherent of Agudah, and other times a follower of Mizrachi. But as far as the townspeople were concerned, that didn’t matter. He was … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox
Tagged agudah, halakhic questions, haredi world, Marc B. Shapiro, mizrachi, world war ii
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The Challenge To Orthodox Judaism From Within
Rabbi Dov Fischer writes: This is the Way of the new challenge to Mesorah emanating from “Morethodoxy,” the International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF), and the Chovevei Torah seminary (YCT). As new demands from them emerge to ordain women rabbis, to conduct … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox, R. Yosef Kanefsky
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Are There Higher Ethical Standards In Modern Orthodoxy?
In my experience, Modern Orthodox Jews have more concern about ethics than other types of Orthodox Jews. They are more concerned about appearances. They are more concerned about the goyim. I’m not arguing that Modern Orthodox Jews are better Jews … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Modern Orthodox
Tagged doctors and lawyers, ethical demands, orthodox jew, orthodox jews, orthodox shuls, Young Israel
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Things I Love About Modern Orthodox Judaism
The past couple of years, I’ve rarely spent time in a Modern Orthodox shul, but overall in the past 17 years, I’ve spent most of my shul time in Modern Orthodox shuls. I feel comfortable there. When you look at … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox
Tagged jewish scholarship, manual laborers, orthodox jews, orthodox minyan, orthodox shul, orthodox shuls
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