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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
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- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
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- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
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- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
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- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
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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)
* 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)
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Category Archives: Haredi
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv – The Greatest Sage Has No Relationship With His Children
In his third lecture for Torah in Motion on the R. Eliezer Berkovitz, professor Marc B. Shapiro says in 2010: “One of you wants to know if I have read the new biography of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. “This is … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy, R. Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rabbis
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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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Judaism’s Views On Modesty
Rabbi Dov Linzer of writes in the New York Times: “IS it possible for a religious demand for modesty to be about anything other than men controlling women’s bodies? From recent events in Israel, it would certainly seem that it … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Modesty
Tagged male lust, natural inclinations, natural instincts, orthodox men, ultra orthodox jews, victim mentality
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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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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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It Gets Besser
From JJ: IT GETS BESSER is a video project that compiles images of individuals who grew up in ultra orthodox Jewish communities (Hareidi/Hasidic/Yeshivish etc.) and have chosen to break of out of the confined lifestyle they were raised in to … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi
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FBI Arrests Haredi Woman At Son’s Wedding
Failed Messiah reports: “Haredi woman arrested at son’s Borough Park wedding. The woman, who’s last name is Zaprin or Safrin, is allegedly another arrest linked to the Spinka Rebbe’s money laundering scandal. The Spinka Rebbe is currently serving time in … Continue reading
Most Chareidi Jews In Israel Don’t Want To Work
Dennis Prager writes: The Wall Street Journal recently published a column about ultra-Orthodox (Charedi) Jews in Israel who do not work for a living. Sixty-five percent of ultra-Orthodox men ages 35-54 do not go to work. Instead, they study Torah … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager, Haredi, Israel
Tagged david ben gurion, Dennis Prager, dominant lifestyle, israel work, orthodox jews, yeshiva students
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Jewish Wigs For Women
It is nice to get some MSM coverage of Orthodox Jewish life that isn’t sneering. From the LAT: Sheitels are the wigs that married Orthodox Jewish women of the most devout, or Hasidic, communities wear in public. It would be … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi
Tagged city coffee, hasidic jews, low cost loans, mistaken belief, orthodox jewish women, true appearance
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A Convert’s Sad Story
Anonymous writes: I am a convert. There can be no question that I am halakhically Jewish, at least if you trust the Lubavitchers to know halakha. I am writing to protest the downright shameful treatment of converts by the Orthodox … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Haredi
Tagged conservative rabbi, converting to judaism, first five books, orthodox jews, orthodox rabbi, shameful treatment
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