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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
- Table Six
- 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
- Live Questions in Jewish Studies
- The Gap
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: Marc B. Shapiro
Decoding Rabbi Isadore Twersky
Per Alliance Theory: Rabbi Isadore Twersky was the architect of the high-level intellectual ceasefire. He rejected the idea that a scholar must choose between the “sacred” world of the yeshiva and the “profane” world of the university. He argued that … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Marc B. Shapiro, Stephen Turner
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Decoding Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Written with AI: Rabbi Joseph Telushkin is a norm translator and moral ambassador rather than a boundary enforcer or institutional governor. Telushkin’s power does not come from controlling entry, legitimacy, or halachic process. It comes from shaping how Jews explain … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Ben Shapiro, Conversion, Dennis Prager, Guru, Marc B. Shapiro, R. J. B. Soloveitchik, R. Jonathan Sacks, R. Joseph Telushkin
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Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox by Marc B. Shapiro (2006)
In Marc B. Shapiro’s study of Saul Lieberman, the central conflict illustrates the “coordination failure” that occurs when a high-status individual holds dual citizenship in rival coalitions. David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory suggests that social groups maintain their borders by demanding … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy, R. Saul Lieberman
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The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles Reappraised by Marc B. Shapiro (2004)
In Marc B. Shapiro’s analysis of Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles, the “Limits of Orthodox Theology” reveals how a diverse movement collapses into a single, rigid “in-group” signal. David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory suggests that complex intellectual histories are often flattened into simple … Continue reading
Posted in Censorship, Maimonides, Marc B. Shapiro
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Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History by Marc B. Shapiro (2015)
In Marc B. Shapiro’s study of religious censorship, the rewriting of history serves as the ultimate tool for social coordination. David Pinsof’s Alliance Theory posits that humans do not seek “truth” in a vacuum but rather use information to signal … Continue reading
Posted in Censorship, Marc B. Shapiro
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Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy: The Life and Works of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, 1884-1966 by Marc B. Shapiro (2001)
In Marc B. Shapiro’s book, the struggle between tradition and modernity serves as a fertile ground for the strategic coordination described in Alliance Theory. The book examines the life and thought of Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, a figure who occupied … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro, R. J. J. Weinberg
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Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America
Aaron Renn reviews sociologist Christian Smith’s new book Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America in the new December issue of First Things magazine: Smith offers a useful new lens: obsolescence. Religion is now obsolete—that is, … Continue reading
Posted in America, Christianity, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy, Susanne Klingenstein
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The Worship Of Abstract Theory Over Human Welfare
The buffered love to worship theory while the porous are more likely to love other things. Robert Lighthizer writes in his 2023 book, No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America’s Workers: Free trade is always … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Judaism, Marc B. Shapiro
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Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox (2006)
I ask Grok to critique this book by Marc B. Shapiro: Marc B. Shapiro’s Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox, published in 2006 by the University of Scranton Press, is a concise yet incisive examination of the complex relationship between Rabbi … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro
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Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History (2015)
I ask Grok to critique this book by Marc B. Shapiro: Marc B. Shapiro’s Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History is a meticulously researched and provocative exploration of how segments of Orthodox Judaism have engaged in self-censorship … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro
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