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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
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- 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
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: Conversion
Rabbi Avrohom Union – Gatekeeper
Rabbi Union runs the Rabbinical Council of California, which converts about 30 people a year. He has the power to stop a potential conversions. He’s rejected hundreds of people from the program over the years. Many of them, including myself … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, R. Avrohom Union, RCC
Tagged classical mythology, gatekeeper, gatekeepers, rabbi akiba, rabbinical council of california, shape shifters
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Suing Chief Rabbinate Over Annulled Conversions
Why didn’t the RCA do this? Haaretz reports: A local nonprofit assisting Jewish converts is for the first time planning to take the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to court for not preventing the retroactive annulment of conversions, Anglo File has … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion
Tagged assistance organization, chief rabbinate, haaretz, jewish converts, religious status, seth farber
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Has The RCA Developed Backbone Over Conversions?
Currently the RCA accepts the determination of Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar about which conversions he will accept. I don’t expect the RCA will change its approach as long as Rabbi Basil Herring runs the show. He’s too weak. … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Haredi, R. Basil Herring, R. Shlomo Amar, RCA
Tagged basil herring, rabbi shlomo amar, rocking the boat, sephardic, soloveitchik
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Another Attempt To Fire Rav Haim Druckman
The Jerusalem Post reports Jan. 13, 2010: The Civil Service Authority wrote a letter this week calling on the Prime Minister’s Office to terminate Rabbi Haim Druckman as head of the National Conversion Authority, following the expiration of his contract … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, IDF, Israel, R. Haim Druckman
Tagged binyamin netanyahu, chief rabbi, civil service, israel defense forces, israeli defense force, jerusalem post, prime minister benjamin, rabbi shlomo amar, yeshivas
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The Powerful M.0. Rabbis Who Administered Shannon Orand’s Conversion To Judaism
There were two in particular — Rav Shmuel Eliyahu (Chief Rabbi of Safed and the son of the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Mordechai Eliyahu) and Chief Rabbi Dov Lior of Hevron, one of the six most powerful Religious … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, R. Dov Lior, R. Haim Druckman, R. Rafi Ostroff, R. Shmuel Eliyahu, R. Shmuel Fried, Shannon Orand
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Shannon Orand’s Unusual Conversion
Here’s the Jewish Israel report. Here’s The Jerusalem Report. From The Jerusalem Post, it sounds like Rav Shmuel Eliyahu (Chief Rabbi of Safed and the son of the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Mordechai Eliyahu) is the main force … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Conversion, Guma Aguiar, Israel, Jewish Israel, Orthodoxy, R. Dov Lior, R. Haim Druckman, R. Leib Tropper, R. Rafi Ostroff, R. Shmuel Eliyahu, R. Tovia Singer, Shannon Orand
Tagged bnei akiva, chief rabbi, chief rabbinate, israel report, jerusalem post, jerusalem report, orand, rabbi dov lior, rabbi shmuel, rabbi singer, rabbi tovia singer, rav dov lior
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He Needed Rape, She Needed Conversion
Conversions to Judaism do not typically require rape of the would-be convert. I did not have this experience, for instance. Perhaps the holy rabbi was simply being scrupulous that the would-be convert did not wear pants (or panties). When he … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, FailedMessiah, R. Leib Tropper, Sex, The Jewish Week
Tagged conversion program, fragile bones, jewish week, resemblance, role play, sex with other men, sexual demands, sexual impropriety, sexual relationship, spiritual benefit, tender loving care, torah tidbits
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Orthodox Conversion Programs In Los Angeles Working Well
According to what I hear, all of the Orthodox conversion programs in Los Angeles boast better than a 90% success rate (when success is measured by its converts staying Sabbath-observant after becoming Jewish). I’ve not encountered an Orthodox rabbi in … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, R. David Rue, R. Gavriel Cohen, RCC
Tagged conservative conversions, conversion controversy, conversion programs, conversion to judaism, orthodox conversion, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, rabbi cohen
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Your Conversion
John emails: I started reading your blog a few months ago when I was looking for "porn" and found your blog which is much more revealing and entertaining. I went thru your profile’s page and thought it was very informative. … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Education, Personal
Tagged church dogma, high school diploma, high school exit exam, joan of arc, man of faith, school exit exam
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The Curse Of Luke Ford
I imagine things from my rabbi’s perspective: Luke Ford was never my idea. Frankly, I blame Dennis Prager. This formerly Orthodox guy has a nationally syndicated radio show where he presents Judaism in very exciting terms, a little too exciting … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Dennis Prager, Personal, Rabbis
Tagged Dennis Prager, ethical monotheism, luke ford, one true god, orthodox rabbi, syndicated radio show
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