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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
- Julius Krein
- 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)
Tag Archives: orthodox judaism
How Common Is Spinka-Like Tax Fraud In American Yeshivot?
It is very common. Children learn it from their parents in business. We had a scandal in the past year among the Sephardic Jewish community in New York. Most of it comes from our Eastern European heritage where many Jews … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Yeshiva
Tagged benjamin netanyahu, czarist russia, eastern european heritage, orthodox judaism, reb moshe, sephardic jewish community
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Why Do Jewish Day Schools Cost Three Times As Much As Roman Catholic Day Schools?
You can send your child to a Roman Catholic day school for $6,000 a year. If you want to send your child to YULA or Shalhevet and you have to pay full price, that will cost you about $20,000 a … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged orthodox jew, orthodox jewish life, orthodox judaism, priests and nuns, shabbat dinner, traditional jewish life
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What Would Orthodox Judaism Gain From Women Rabbis?
“I am part of a religion that has roles,” Dennis says on his radio show April 13, 2010. “While I am not Orthodox, I am a fellow traveler in many ways. I have great admiration for things that they do. … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager
Tagged fellow traveler, male models, orthodox judaism, radio show, sameness
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Chosen For A Mission
I talked to this bloke in Israel today. He was raised secular and then became chareidi (ultra-Orthodox Jew) for about 25 years (from approximately 1973 to 1998) and then became a nowhere man, neither secular nor religious. His story reminds … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Orthodoxy
Tagged driven leaf, eastern religions, kitzur shulchan aruch, milton steinberg, orthodox jew, orthodox judaism
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The Predator
As I walked the mean streets of Pico-Robertson today, I felt weak, tired and vulnerable. I was exhausted. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I just wanted to run my errands, to pick up my groceries, and to retreat … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, George Gilder, Personal
Tagged game theory, George Gilder, holy days, orthodox judaism, rational policy
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A Dominican-American Convert To Orthodox Judaism
From The Jewish Press: Why did you start blogging? I started the conversion process; I was 25 years old. Every Shabbat meal, someone would ask me, “Why are you in the conversion process?” One of my friends, Drew Kaplan, was … Continue reading
Posted in Aliza Hausman, Conversion, Orthodoxy, Race
Tagged jewish press, orthodox judaism, public sphere, rabbinical student, shabbat meal, speaking engagements
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Technical Difficulties
Friday. 4 pm. All over my blog in the widgets section, I’m getting this: “Warning: call_user_func_array() [function.call-user-func-array]: First argument is expected to be a valid callback, ‘shortcode_unautop’ was given in /home/lukef0rd/lukeford.net/blog/wp-includes/plugin.php on line 166” Anyone have a suggestion? [email protected]. This … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged array function, orthodox conversion, orthodox judaism, orthodox shuls, plug ins, shul
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They Trust The Heart, We Trust The Law
I just watched all four episodes of the BBC drama North & South, set in 19th Century England. It was very romantic and charming and traditional. Reminded me a bit of Orthodox Judaism, until these goyim started excusing each other’s … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Judaism, Personal
Tagged 19th century england, bbc drama, fornicating, goyim, orthodox judaism, religion christianity
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Why Doesn’t The Great Sin Of Pre-Marital Sex Get More Attention In Orthodox Life?
When I was growing up in Seventh-Day Adventist Christianity, the sin of fornication aka pre-marital sex received more attention than any other sin. It was the biggie. To do it, was to deny Christ and his love. I’ve never heard … Continue reading
Posted in Adventist, Christianity, Orthodoxy, Personal, Rabbis, Sex
Tagged Dennis Prager, flag football league, monogamous heterosexual marriage, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbis, pre marital sex, saturday night fever, shabbos afternoon
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I’m Tired Of All These Public Outpourings Of Sensitivity To Gay Orthodox Jews
Why should gay Orthodox Jews get any more compassion than any other group within Orthodoxy who chooses to publicly deviate from their religion and simultaneously seek acceptance from it? Judaism unambiguously says that is it not allowed to have sex … Continue reading
Posted in Homosexuality, Personal, Sex
Tagged fellow journalists, foundational law, gay jews, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, public actions, religion judaism, sensitive treatment, traditional jews
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