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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
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- 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)
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- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
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- * 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)
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* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
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* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
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* 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)
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* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
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Tag Archives: orthodox judaism
Founder Of Aish HaTorah Dies
Aish HaTorah is the most significant outreach organization for Orthodox Judaism (along with Chabad). They are a machine. They bring people in, they love them, and they help them rebuild their lives in the light of the Torah. And this … Continue reading
Posted in Aish HaTorah
Tagged Aish HaTorah, jewish travelers, orthodox judaism, rabbi noah weinberg, torah education, traditional judaism
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Maybe The Rabbis Don’t Deserve My Rage?
So I’m sitting in class and I’m thinking, why am I here? I already know all this. I attained enlightenment years ago. I’m way ahead of these people. I could teach this class. I sit there in mounting frustration for … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Rabbis
Tagged Alexander Technique, counting cards, flesh and blood, harvard medical school, luke ford, new friend, orthodox judaism, protagonist, Rabbis
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Congruence With Orthodoxy
Joe emails: As I have told you for a long time, Orthodox Judaism is for married couples, preferably where the male carries a spare tire and the woman carries two. Going to shul and having a place where your kids … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy
Tagged congruence, daf yomi, hanuka, married couples, orthodox judaism, orthodox shul
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Judaism Vs Kundalini Yoga
I’m wondering if it is kosher to mix practice of kundalini yoga with Orthodox Judaism? Kundalini is the most spiritually intense form of yoga. Most other forms of yoga are primarily forms of exercise. Kundalini yoga is a spiritual practice. … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Yoga
Tagged daoists, divine consciousness, jewish idea, jewish view, orthodox judaism, sexual organ
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James Kugel – Heretic?
Dr. Kugel, Bible scholar, was the target of a well-received (in Orthodox circles) pamphlets warning Orthodox parents about the dangers of sending their kids to secular universities. Anyone who thinks that Modernity and Orthodoxy are compatible is not Modernity and … Continue reading
Posted in James Kugel
Tagged bible scholar, critical scholarship, James kugel, orthodox circles, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbis
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‘The Tenacy of Unreasonable Beliefs’ II
Here’s the second part of my interview with author Solomon Schimmel. bRead reviews of the book "The Tenacity of Unreasonable Beliefs: Fundamentalism and the Fear of Truth" here. Solomon: "To the extent that I am ethical and moral — I … Continue reading
Posted in Author Interviews
Tagged adult education committee, bible scholar, classical reflections, fundamentalism, James kugel, orthodox judaism, orthodox shul, righteous man, Solomon Schimmel, tenacity
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I Interview Solomon Schimmel About His New Book, ‘The Tenacity of Unreasonable Beliefs: Fundamentalism and the Fear of Truth’
Read part two of this transcript here. I find reviews of the book on amazon.com to be all over the place. Paul Shaviv (the principal of a Modern Orthodox day school in Toronto and father of the journalist-blogger Miriam Shaviv) … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Solomon Schimmel
Tagged early adulthood, fundamentalist belief, hebrew college, orthodox judaism, rabbinic texts, Solomon Schimmel
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You Can Be Modern Or You Can Be Orthodox Or You Can Lie To Yourself And Others
There is no way to reconcile Orthodox Judaism with modern disinterested scholarship. You can be Orthodoxprax (practice Orthodox Judaism while keeping your heretical views to yourself) but then you are not honest to the religion you practice. Orthodox academics making … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Orthodoxy
Tagged bible scholar, intellectual discourse, James kugel, orthodox judaism, stern college, Yeshiva University
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‘Fundamentalism and the Fear of Truth’
Rabbi Gil Student writes on Hirhurim: Atid published a new booklet, Teaching Toward Tomorrow: Setting an Agenda for Modern Orthodox Education, that contains essays from a symposium on the current state and future directions of Modern Orthodox education. The essays … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged biblical scholarship, educational consequences, hebrew bible, intellectual consequences, orthodox judaism, Solomon Schimmel
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Do People Leave Orthodox Judaism Because Of Racism?
I’m skeptical of this claim. Sure, Orthodox Jews more than the less religious people I know, are apt to use racist expressions. Orthodox Jews, for instance, are far less likely to romanticize blacks and to imagine that they have a … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Race
Tagged harvard law school, law school graduate, loose lips sink ships, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, validity of iq tests
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