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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
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- 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: Haredi
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
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Should Jewish Women Cover Their Faces When They Go Outside?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: A long time ago I was asked to deal with the so-called Jewish Taliban women, who completely cover their faces when they go out. I know that everyone has downplayed their significance and referred to … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Judaism, Marc B. Shapiro
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Should A Religious Jew Save The Life Of A Non-Religious Jew?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro blogs: Here is another responsum, by R. Israel David Harfenes, Nishmat Shabbat, vol. 5 no. 500:4. The author is asked if you can violate Shabbat to save the lives of irreligious Jews who came from the … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Jews, Marc B. Shapiro
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How Do The Haredim Feel About The Non-Haredim?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro blogs: One of the leaders of the extremist haredim is R. Moshe Sternbuch. Here is the first page of a responsum he wrote (Teshuvot ve-Hanhagot, vol. 1, no. 816) in which he states that if a … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Israel, Marc B. Shapiro
Tagged haredim, honest fashion, land of israel, Marc B. Shapiro, religious store, shafran
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What Would A Haredi Israel Look Like?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro blogs: I can’t speak about the haredi man on the street, but examination of the writings of the haredi leadership – and in the haredi world that is what really matters – shows that time and … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy
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Pearl Reich – The Hasidic Hottie
Gothamist posts: A 30-year-old mother of four, aspiring model, and former member of Brooklyn’s Hasidic community is fighting for a divorce from her allegedly abusive husband and for custody of her children. “It was an arranged marriage,” Pearlperry Reich tells … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Hasidim, Satire
Tagged aspiring model, borough park, daily mail, open relationship, orthodox women, troubled women
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The World Of Chabad-Lite
Chabad is an elite religion. It has long prided itself as the most intellectual of the Hasidim, the group most devoted to Torah study. Over the past 40 years, Chabad has devoted itself to outreach and it is easy to … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Haredi, Hasidim, Kabbalah Centre
Tagged friends and neighbors, jewish practice, lubavitcher, military fatigues, special ops, torah study
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Jews Running Scams
I don’t think Jews are any more dishonest than other people, but I have found pockets of Jewish life (from secular to Orthodox) that are cool with running scams. Jews who are the most invested in the greater society are … Continue reading
A Photo Of A Teenage Rebbe Swimming Topless
In his second lecture on R. Meir Simcha of Dvinsk for Torah in Motion, history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “I am in possession of a lengthy autobiography of an important rosh yeshiva who is no longer alive. This autobiography … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Haredi, Hasidim, Marc B. Shapiro, Personal
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Can You Be Modern Orthodox And Accept Da’as Torah?
According to Wikipedia: Da’as Torah (or Da’at Torah, Da’as Toyreh) (Hebrew: דעת תורה, literally “Knowledge of Torah”), is a concept in Haredi Judaism according to which Jews should seek the input of rabbinic scholars not just on matters of Jewish … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy
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