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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:
- 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
- Strange Bedfellows in the Academy: Alliance Theory and the Straussian Schism
- Tournier on Desmond Ford
- The Fence and the Blessing: How Jews Have Thought About Gentiles
- Tournier on Luke Ford
- Tournier on The Nostradamus Kid
- An Alliance Theory of Antisemitism
- Tournier on Cinema Paradiso and Desmond Ford
- The Self-Hating Jew
- The Alliance Theory in the Academy
- The Borrowed Robe: How Antisemitism Dresses in Each Age’s Virtue
- A Place For You
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: torah study
Modern Orthodoxy Vs Right-Wing Orthodoxy
Joe emails: You can tell the difference between Modern Orthodoxy and more Right Wing Old School Orthodoxy by looking at synagogue websites. Bnai David Judea is this high powered modern orthodox synagogue – it has women on the board, it … Continue reading
Posted in Bnai David-Judea, Haredi, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Pico/Robertson
Tagged bell curves, black hats, orthodox synagogue, synagogue websites, tons of kids, torah study
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The Chemical Method Of Studying Talmud
Dr. Marc B. Shapiro blogs: The Ridbaz’ attack on the Brisker method is well known. In the introduction to his responsa, Beit Ridbaz (Jerusalem, 1908), Ridbaz writes as follows: A certain rabbi invented the "chemical" method of study. Those in … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro, Rabbis
Tagged joseph b soloveitchik, Marc B. Shapiro, oral torah, r joseph, responsa, torah study
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The Mussar Shmooze
Shmuel Sofer writes: The Mussar Movement made famous by R. Yisroel Salanter and his students held that pure Torah study might not adequately train students and adults to perfect their lives and align them with the ethical principles and worldview … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged dessler, ethical development, mashgiach, Mussar, torah study, weekly parsha
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What Makes The Rabbinical Council Of California The Most Powerful Orthodox Institution In Town?
It’s the killer combination of Rabbi Gershon Bess — the savviest politician among the traditional Orthodox rabbinate in Los Angeles — and Rabbi Avrohom Union, a nasty street fighter who administers the RCC. In my mind, being skilled at politics … Continue reading
Posted in R. Avrohom Union, Rabbis, RCC
Tagged killer combination, loving kindness, nasty street, orthodox institution, orthodox rabbinate, rabbinical council of california, torah study
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Name Those Who Study Torah In Pico-Robertson
I’m talking about people who study it every day in the original. And I am not talking about rabbis or anybody who gets paid to study Torah. There are three at Bnai David-Judea (about 430 member families) — Shep Rosenman, … Continue reading
Posted in Pico/Robertson, Torah
Tagged Beth Jacob, daf yomi, marc shapiro, persian jews, torah study, YICC
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Is It Permitted To Study Torah On Shabbos?
Rabbi Ari Enkin posts: While it goes without saying that one should allocate time for Torah study on Shabbat,[1] it is interesting to note that a number of halachic authorities are of the opinion that one should not engage in … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged lawrence kaplan, mental agony, pleasurable pursuits, talmud study, torah insights, torah study, weekday activities, zeira
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Why Aren’t Yeshiva Bocherim (Students) Working With The Homeless And Davening With Black People?
"That’s not what yeshiva students do," says historian Dr. Marc Shapiro in his second lecture on Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook for Torah in Motion. "Rav Elazar Schach was opposed to kiruv (outreach). That was the standard charedi position. The Brisker … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Tagged davening, kiruv, marc shapiro, torah in motion, torah study, yeshiva students, yeshiva world
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Almost Every Gadol Of The Early 20th Century Had A Child Who Left The Path
In his third lecture on Rav Elazar Schach for Torah in Motion, historian Marc B. Shapiro says that Rav Schach’s son became a religious Zionist aka Modern Orthodox as opposed to Chareidi aka traditional Orthodox (who are not Zionists, don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Israel, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Tagged lubavitcher rebbe, Marc B. Shapiro, marc shapiro, rabbi moshe, religious zionist, torah in motion, torah scholars, torah study, two generations
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Even Torah Study Can Lead To Immorality
Josh emails: I attend a weekly parshah group. This past Thursday, I saw a young Russian woman who’d been absent from the class for a few weeks. She immediately asked if I had missed her. Well, I go to this … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged converting to judaism, holy torah, russian woman, silky smooth legs, torah classes, torah study
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