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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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- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
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* 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)
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* 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)
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Category Archives: Conversion
Converting To Judaism
I’m noticing folks going through the Orthodox conversion to Judaism not only throwing away all their pants and only wearing skirts, covering up tattoos, dropping off Facebook, and severely reducing their social life so as to minimize potential trouble. They … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion
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Why Did I Convert To Judaism?
* I wanted to be part of the most effective group for making a better world. A group that had a divine recipe (Torah). * I wanted to improve myself. * I wanted to belong to a transcendent community (without … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Personal
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Spiritual Highs Are Hard To Come By In Judaism
A lot of people want to know what I was feeling when I was converting to Judaism. On that last day as I stood naked in the mikveh and saying the blessings in Hebrew that would officially make me Jewish, … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion
Tagged chronic fatigue syndrome, converting to judaism, orthodox rabbi, orthodox rabbis, orthodox shul, reform rabbi
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Conversion Ain’t Easy
I ran into a friend. He’s converting to Orthodox Judaism. It is taking much longer than he expected. “You should expect a couple of years,” I told him. “Is the rabbi testing me?” he asked. “The rabbi says I’m ready … Continue reading
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Should Jews Welcome The Convert Into Their Families?
I believe that 95% of Orthodox Jews were born Orthodox (according to sociologist Steven Cohen). For all the talk about baalei teshuva (returnees), they’re a small proportion of the Orthodox. If my 95% fact is correct, should not Orthodox Jews … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Jews, Orthodoxy
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Conversion Before Modern Times
In his second lecture on R. Meir Simcha of Dvinsk for Torah in Motion, history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: Chaim Ozer Grodzinski said that even if you acknowledge you have desires and will commit certain sins, that does not … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy
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Los Angeles Has Predatory Rabbis Doing Orthodox Conversions To Judaism
Alarm bells should go off in your head if the rabbi in charge of your conversion to Orthodox Judaism asks you: * When do you menstruate (so he can get at you when you won’t contaminate him) * To meet … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Conversion, Rabbis
Tagged alarm bells, conversion program, conversion programs, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbis, sexual predators
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The Chief Rabbi Of Rome During The Holocaust Afterward Converted To Christianity
I found this guy a shocker: Israel Zolli (September 27, 1881, Brody, Galicia – March 2, 1956, Rome, Italy) was from 1939 to 1945 Chief Rabbi of Rome. After the war, he converted to Roman Catholicism, taking the name Eugenio … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Conversion
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The Ohel Sarah Imenu Conversion Program
Prof. Yitzhak Kerem forwards this: Dear Prof. Kerem, You asked me a few weeks ago, (November 6, 2011), to write more details on what happened at Ohel Sarah Imenu conversion program for women in Jerusalem. You wrote: Netty doesn’t understand … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion
Tagged conversion program, ejf, ohel, phone conversations, rav elyashiv, sarah kramer
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