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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:
- 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
- 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
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
Is Sex Without Love OK?
Prior to my conversion to Orthodox Judaism, I sought as much sex as possible (without spending much time, money, effort or dignity), but I’ve always hated illegal drugs and have shied away from people who indulge in them. Robert Kurzban … Continue reading
Posted in Drugs, Sex
Tagged legalizing pot, openness to new experiences, orthodox judaism, psychology today, robert kurzban
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Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky Replaces Original Post On Morning Blessing
Debra responds: Rabbi Kanefsky, Though you may have changed some of the language of your earlier post, I assume you still hold what you wrote earlier to be true. Ealier you wrote: ” . . . Simply for lack of … Continue reading
Posted in R. Yosef Kanefsky
Tagged assani, brain surgeon, daily blessings, male reproductive organs, orthodox judaism, philosophical justification, rabbi yosef
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I Was Interviewed Last Week On KCVU Radio About Growing Up Seventh-Day Adventist
KCVU 1190 AM is based in Boulder, Colorado. My main interviewer was Geoff Anderson, who like me grew up a Seventh-Day Adventist. Geoff says he remembers people getting into fistfights over my father. Geoff’s cohost Punkrock Paul also jumps into … Continue reading
Posted in Adventist, Blogging, Personal
Tagged cry in the dark, fistfights, geoff anderson, gezera, klal yisrael, neilah, orthodox judaism, plink plink, punkrock, yom kipur
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For A Godly Man, I Remain Painfully Flawed
I’m a convert to Orthodox Judaism. I subscribe to an elevated moral code. I try to live my life by the dictates of Jewish law. I want to be a mentch. I study the holy words of Torah. I meditate … Continue reading
Posted in Dating, Personal
Tagged cave man, godly man, hovel, moral code, mother theresa, orthodox judaism
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The Nostradamus Kid (1993)
I love this movie! It’s a coming of age story about an Australian boy raised a Seventh-Day Adventist who yearns for the pastor’s daughter and fears the world is coming to an end. I dig how the protagonist alternates between … Continue reading
Posted in Adventist, Personal, Sydney
Tagged billy graham crusade, cuban missile crisis, orthodox judaism, proper girls, seventh day adventist, seventh day adventists
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My Anguish Over Hot Orthodox Married Women Dressing Provocatively
I got this tip from Heshy Fried about a letters column in the Jewish Press: Dear Rachel, I am writing this out of my soul-piercing anguish at the epidemic of married “frum” women who dress provocatively. They shamelessly dare to … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy
Tagged custom wigs, eye makeup, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, pencil skirts, yetzer hara
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Orthodox Judaism Is A Hardball Religion
In the Torah, Moshe and company put to death an Israelite for gathering sticks on the Sabbath. Orthodox Judaism plays hardball. This surprises many outsiders who have a picture of religion as primarily a spiritual loving community. Orthodox Judaism has … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged jewish questions, orthodox jew, orthodox judaism, shalom bayit, torah scholars, traditional shul
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You Can’t Observe The Sabbath In Your Heart Only
A couple of weeks ago was Shuvuot. I got asked why I could not come in to my Alexander Technique training on those two days. I mentioned first that driving was prohibited on holy days but said the main thing … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged Alexander Technique, fellow jews, grand holiday, jewish holiday, orthodox judaism, singing songs
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45 Reasons I’ve Yet To Marry At Age 45
This is going to be my most painful blog post ever. I believe that the primary reason I’m not married is because of flaws in my character. * My lack of regard for others. I’m so intent on doing my … Continue reading
Posted in Marriage, Personal
Tagged bloody river, chronic depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, doing my own thing, emotional maturity, fair dinkum, gavin brown, orthodox judaism, son andy
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I Can’t Remember When I Was Last In Pain
People all around me are suffering. They are doubled-up in pain because of their addictions to drugs, alcohol, debt, over-eating, sex, porn, and the like. I’m not immune to some of these things, but luckily my behavior and my finances … Continue reading
Posted in Alexander Technique, Personal
Tagged alexander technique lessons, depressive tendencies, hole in my soul, orthodox judaism, orthodox shul, psycho therapy
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