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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:
- What Might Survival Cost For Israel & Jews?
- If Mearsheimer Is Right
- Forty Thousand
- Vox Day
- Page 261
- The Oven
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- For Money
- Live Questions in Torah
- Another Exciting Scold About AI From A University Professor!
- Sociologist Philip N. Cohen
- Herb K – Recovery Teacher
- Live Questions in Philosophy
- The List Problem
- Fred Luskin: Forgive for Good
- James C. Weidmann and the Making of Chateau Heartiste
- If the Populists Gain Power, Who Will be Their Favorite Economists?
- Live Questions in Psychology
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BEST POSTS:
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* 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)
* 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)
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* 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)
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Category Archives: Marc B. Shapiro
Suspicion Of Converts
I was reading some commentary on the Torah portion of Pinchas and the commentators such as Rashi say that Pinchas was assailed by his peers for descending from a convert (Yitro) and therefore his actions came out of self-seeking impure … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Marc B. Shapiro
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When Did You Last Hear A Rabbi Berate His Congregation?
I’ve never heard a rabbi berate his congregation. I know it happened in the past but it is rare these days. Marc Shapiro replies to my question: “[It is] not very common today, but in traditional societies it certainly happened. … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Marc B. Shapiro, Rabbis
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Is It Ok To Touch Women For Healing Purposes?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: There is currently a situation in London where a leading rabbi is charged with inappropriate contact with women. This rabbi denies the charges. However, he has admitted, so I am informed, that he did touch … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Marc B. Shapiro
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Rabbi Prof. Marc Shapiro on the need for Kashrut Organizations
Date: 11/11/2003 8:02:00 AM Subject: Clarification Message: I have noticed that many people don’t understand the basic shitah of this website. With your permission, let me clarify something. Rav Henkin, who together with R. Moshe Feinstein was the leading halakhic … Continue reading
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Rabbis Talk Differently To Other Rabbis
In his fourth lecture on Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: Wikipedia has everything you need. In the rabbinic world, you don’t have book reviews [like what Rav Zevin did in Sofrim U’Sefarim]. It’s not part … Continue reading
Posted in Hasidim, Marc B. Shapiro, Rabbis
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Artscroll Vs Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin
In his third lecture on Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: I expected Obama to win. I did not vote for him. Rav Zevin wrote Ha’moadim Be’halachah – halachic studies of the Jewish festivals. When this … Continue reading
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Should Ordinary Jews Study Talmud?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: In all the discussions recently about the success of Daf Yomi, I didn’t see anyone note that one of the reasons this success is so surprising is that the whole notion of Daf Yomi goes … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro, Talmud
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Secular Studies In Lithuania
Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: Although in the U.S. the Telz yeshiva adopted a very anti-secular studies perspective, this was not the case in Europe. R. Joseph Leib Bloch was very involved with the Yavneh day school system in Lithuania, … Continue reading
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A World Congress Of Rabbis
Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: In a 1931 letter to R. Kook, Iggerot la-Re’iyah, no. 273, the Kovno Rav asks R. Kook if he agrees with him that a world congress of rabbis should be convened – אספת רבנים עולמית … Continue reading
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When Agudat Israel Did Things
Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: …it brings us back to a time when Agudat Israel actually did something other than put on a big Daf Yomi celebration every seven years.[6] There was a time when Agudat Israel tried to accomplish … Continue reading
Posted in Agudath Israel, Marc B. Shapiro
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