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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)
Tag Archives: orthodox community
Living In Israel Weakens Faith?
Neta Sela writes: Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar has harsh words for Israeli society, particularly the ultra-Orthodox community, in regards to its treatment of Russian Jews who immigrated to Israel. In an interview to the European rabbinical publication ‘Hanaaseh Vehanishma’ … Continue reading
Posted in Israel
Tagged berel, chief rabbi, grim reality, israeli society, orthodox community, russian jews
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What Do Converts Have To Do To Get Accepted?
This post by Toby Katz mirrors my experience: "In all the articles and comments about whether Ba’alei Teshuva are fully accepted in Frum from Birth communities, one major factor I haven’t seen mentioned is the character of the individual BT. … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion
Tagged frum, orthodox community, rsquo, teshuva, uncaring
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The Outsider
Are you Shomer Mitzvas? Shomer Shabbos? I assume yes but I am asking. Why do you feel like an outsider in the LA orthodox community? You have mentioned this in your videos and on the blog. I understand your respect, … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged admiration, decency, emes, fascination, fellow jews, frum, indiscretion, isolation, laje, orthodox communities, orthodox community, Orthodoxy, outsider, personal questions, shiksas, shomer shabbos, shul, sore subject, Torah, youtube videos
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What If It’s Not Them?
What if my problems in Orthodox Judaism are not their fault? What if it’s not Orthodox Judaism nor its rabbis nor its practitioners that have caused me so much trouble, but only myself? What if I gave the Orthodox community … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged creep, exile, foibles, holiness, individual rights, jewish community, margins, orthodox community, orthodox judaism, Rabbis, Relationships, shul, sunny jim, Torah, tradition, Truth, wise father
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Jewish Code Of Silence Complicates Probe Into Jewish-On-Goyish Crown Heights Attack
From the New York Daily News: Long before the first rapper stopped snitching or any Mafiosi swore an oath of omertà, there was the Jewish law of mesira. The tenet that forbids Jews from informing on fellow Jews is one … Continue reading
Posted in Crown Heights
Tagged albany ave, andrew charles, busta rhymes bodyguard, city cop, code of jewish law, code of silence, college sophomore, Crown Heights, fellow jews, Hasidim, hebrew word, initial probe, jewish men, mafiosi, new york daily news, orthodox community, police sources, rap world, stationhouse, street cred
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Kosher Water In Pico/Robertson
From the Jewish Journal: The Pico-Robertson neighborhood is the spiritual, cultural and commercial center of L.A.’s Modern Orthodox community. There are schools, shuls, David Suissa, and, of course, fools, Miriam and Shoshana, and now, it seems the Hood is the … Continue reading
Posted in Pico/Robertson
Tagged blogger, critters, fools, Google, jay firestone, Jewish Journal, mayim, miriam, neighborhood, new york city, orthodox community, rebbe, shellfish, shoshana, suissa, tap water, world headquarters
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Another View On Yossi Shereshevsky
A rabbi writes: Levi, Not sure how you get the best scoops on these stories (Mordechai Gafni, Isaac Hersh), but your info seems the most complete. Regarding "Sherry", what we called Yossi as a teenager, here’s the other side of … Continue reading
Posted in Sharashefsky
Tagged bitter divorce, contradictions, decade, east coast, hersh, israel goldstein, Kollel, orthodox community, orthodox woman, perfidy, personal knowledge, rabbi yossi, religious court, rogues, scoops, shabbat, sherry, signs, teenager, whitewash
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Orthodox Parents Accused Of Abuse
Here are a collection of articles on this story. Says a source: "The case of Isaac Hersh needs to be in the news media until he is allowed to be free of Brooklyn. I believe he wants to be in … Continue reading
Posted in Isaac Hersh
Tagged abuse charges, achievers, aharon, allegation, ambush, anonymous person, authorities, babies, bad boys, boot camp, concentration camp, contortions, feelings, former students, friend of the family, frum, good job, harsh discipline, hersh, insider, island of jamaica, job offer, maryland lawyer, miriam, moths, new york daily news, orthodox community, orthodox jewish community, private boot camps, rare step, rsquo, running from the law, siblings, stacks, tranquility bay, twin brother, twins, vomit, york daily news
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Dr. Mark Goldenberg – The One Short Guy Who Doesn’t Have A Chip On His Shoulder
Dr. Goldenberg is at the top of his profession (pediatric dentist) and he’s a pillar of L.A.’s Orthodox community. He’s the only short guy I know who’s comfortable in his own skin and he’s about the funniest guy I know. … Continue reading
Posted in Pico/Robertson
Tagged attitude, dr mark, orthodox community, own skin, pediatric dentist, pillar, profession, rabbi, steve hirsch
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