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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:
- Dennis Prager v Cedars-Sinai Lawsuit
- Dennis Prager Through Randall Collins: Interaction Ritual Chains
- What is a ‘Received Idea’?
- Jordan Bardella: The Manufacture of Normality
- Everyone Became Television: Bourdieu’s Warning and the 2026 Iran War
- Marine Le Pen
- The Coalition-Proximity Rule
- Nigel Farage
- Bernard Haykel: A Life Between the Text and the Gun
- Walker Connor (1926-2017)
- Benedict Anderson and the Nation as Imagination
- Anthony D. Smith: The Student Who Kept the Question and Rejected the Answer
- Ernest Gellner
- Eric Kaufmann: The Man Who Made the Majority Visible
- Dominic Cummings: A Biography
- Steve Lopez: The Last City Columnist
- California Historian Kevin Starr
- Stephen Kotkin: A Life in Power
- William T. Vollmann: An American Life in Excess
- Rod Dreher: A Life in Exile
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: Reform Judaism
Debbie Friedman Is Dead
JTA reports: Debbie Friedman, a popular singer and songwriter who is widely credited with reinvigorating synagogue music, has died. Friedman died Sunday after being hospitalized in Southern California for several days with pneumonia. She was in her late 50s. “Debbie … Continue reading
Posted in Jews, Music, Reform Judaism, Stephen S. Wise temple
Tagged american congregations, debbie friedman, Dennis Prager, jewish liturgy, synagogue music, union for reform judaism
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Are Liberals Open-Minded?
Dennis Prager writes: I can personally attest to the closed-mindedness among Jewish liberals. Despite having written two best-selling Jewish books and hundreds of articles on Jewish issues, and having lectured to virtually every major Jewish organization in North America for … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager, Reform Judaism
Tagged conservative speakers, Dennis Prager, jewish day schools, orthodox jew, reform synagogue, reform temples
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Organs On Shabbat
Jerry emails: I stumbled accross your website and wanted to ask you about synagogues. I grew up in LA, but just moved back after living 13 years in New York. Do any of the Reform or other synagogues still use … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism
Tagged chior, conservative rabbi, european traditions, reform synagogues, Sinai Temple, there were places
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Reform Responsa
Orthodox rabbi Gil Student writes: When you think of Reform responsa, you automatically think of Reform Rabbi Solomon Freehof, who published some eight volumes of responsa (on Freehof, see the article in Wikipedia – link – and listen to the … Continue reading
Posted in Rabbis, Reform Judaism
Tagged adam mintz, emil fackenheim, hebrew union college, rabbi solomon, reform rabbis, reform responsa
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Non-Orthodox Judaism Disappearing?
I’ve heard other Orthodox rabbis, such as Berel Wein, say they expected non-Orthodox Judaism to be around for hundreds of years. It would be delusional to think otherwise. Chaim Amalek emails:Isn’t that the case with all liberalizing religions in the … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Conservative Judaism, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, R. Norman Lamm, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform Judaism
Tagged berel wein, gil student, norman lamm, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbis, protestant sects, rabbi isaac
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Hebrew Union College Keeps Open Its LA Campus
NEW YORK (JTA) — The Cincinnati and Los Angeles campuses of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion will stay open, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Discussions had been under way to close the two campuses of the Reform movement’s … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism
Tagged american automakers, american jewish life, cincinnati enquirer, hebrew union college, jerusalem post, jewish newspapers
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Stephen Steinlight Interview II
Part One Luke: "I’d like to toss a moral issue to you from out of left field just to hear the way you think a moral issue through. What interest, if any, does our society have in channeling the way … Continue reading
Posted in Immigration, Reconstructionist, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform Judaism, Stephen Steinlight
Tagged faggots, gay marriage, god god, interview ii, moral issue, new yorker cartoon
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Making Conversion To Orthodox Judaism Easier
From The Jerusalem Post: United Torah Judaism’s rabbinic leadership is expected to meet on Wednesday night to discuss a possible compromise in proposed conversion reforms that would allow the party to join the government coalition. The meeting is slated to … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Gary Rosenblatt, Orthodoxy, Reform Judaism
Tagged congregation beth israel, Gary Rosenblatt, government coalition, jerusalem post, orthodox judaism, rabbi yosef, reform congregations, steve lipman, temple solel, torah judaism
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The Thing I Love Best About Orthodox Judaism Is How Its Makes You Feel
If you are a normal human being who adopts Orthodox Judaism, you’ll soon feel better about yourself. Practice Orthodox Judaism and you’ll walk around with a swagger. You’ll know who you are. You’ll never proclaim you’re a proud Jew. You’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Judaism, Orthodoxy, Personal, Reform Judaism
Tagged confusing place, newfangled, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, secular society, traditional judaism
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