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"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
What Is Your Shul’s Vision?
What is Shalhevet’s vision? It is the one Orthodox high school school in Los Angeles where boys and girls receive the identical education. Its mixture of Lawrence Kohlberg and Orthodox Judaism is highly un-Orthodox. I’ve never met a Shalhevet student … Continue reading
Posted in Beth Jacob, Bnai David-Judea, YICC
Tagged Beth Jacob, lawrence kohlberg, orthodox judaism, orthodox shul, simon wiesenthal center, YICC
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What’s The Moral Upshot Of Orthodox Judaism?
I’ve been asking Orthodox rabbis if simply knowing that someone was Orthodox told you anything about their ethics. The rabbis say no. What if you knew the person davened three times a day? Does that say anything about their ethics? … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Orthodoxy
Tagged business ethics, orthodox jewish life, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbis, orthodox shuls, religion and business
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Orthodox Conversion Programs In Los Angeles Working Well
According to what I hear, all of the Orthodox conversion programs in Los Angeles boast better than a 90% success rate (when success is measured by its converts staying Sabbath-observant after becoming Jewish). I’ve not encountered an Orthodox rabbi in … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, R. David Rue, R. Gavriel Cohen, RCC
Tagged conservative conversions, conversion controversy, conversion programs, conversion to judaism, orthodox conversion, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, rabbi cohen
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Should I Date Sharon Tay Of KCBS TV?
It seems like she’s had a lot of suffering in her dating life and I am feeling great compassion for her. From a KCBS TV blog: Herewith, Let’s Blog! is proud to present the top-five (alright, six) list of Sharon … Continue reading
Posted in Dating, Personal
Tagged great compassion, kcbs news, kcbs tv, luke ford, mid thirties, orthodox judaism, sharon tay
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Missing Community
An acquaintance is pregnant. She hates Los Angeles. She feels no sense of community here even though she’s active in Jewish life. She misses her home on the East Coast where she grew up with a strong sense of community … Continue reading
Posted in Jews, Personal
Tagged Alexander Technique, allegiances, jewish life, mores, orthodox judaism, traditional expectations
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How Did Kashrut Become So Sexy?
Twenty years ago, if you met a mashgiach, you assumed he was not smart enough to be a rabbi. Working in kashrut certification was a low-paying, unprestigious job. Now it is a power center. It is a money-maker. The RCC … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, RCC
Tagged corn syrup, kosher certification, mashgiach, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, potato starch
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Aussie Blokes
I don’t know much. I never graduated from college or nothing. But I know about Aussie blokes. There’s this one Aussie bloke I know right well. He was raised a Sevie. You Yanks would call that a Seventh-Day Adventist. By … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Dennis Prager, Ethics, Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged aussie bloke, aussie blokes, Dennis Prager, frederick matthias alexander, orthodox judaism, seventh day adventist, sevie, voice amp
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Her Stomach Hurts Over His Political Views
"How do you feel about our discussion Saturday night?" he asks. "Your message said it made you feel scared." "My stomach hurts so much," she says. "I’m really sad. I probably just didn’t want to know." "You didn’t," he says. … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Personal, Politics
Tagged Judaism, orthodox judaism, political views, quot, right wing politics, t amp, Torah, worst fears
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Dennis Prager’s Thoughts On The Fort Hood Murders
Dennis condemned on his Friday radio shows "news media reports that mentioned everything about the man except his religiosity. On the three major networks, only Charlie Gibson of ABC mentioned it. That is disgraceful. The people who wrote those news … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager, Islam
Tagged charlie gibson, college campuses, Dennis Prager, orthodox jew, orthodox judaism, yitzchak rabin
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The Role Of Women In Orthodox Judaism
Rabbi Michael Broyde discusses this issue and Jewish law. Joseph Kaplan comments on Hirhurim: As always. R. Broyde’s clear and rigorous analysis is extremely helpful, certainly to me, in thinking through important issues, and we should be grateful to him … Continue reading
Posted in Feminism, Orthodoxy
Tagged Hirhurim, joseph kaplan, kabbalat shabbat, orthodox judaism, rabbi michael, true service
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