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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 rabbi
New York Post Covers R. Leib Tropper Scandal
Reuven Blau and Melissa Klein write: Eww, that’s not kosher! A prominent Orthodox rabbi has been caught on tape discussing his apparent love affair with a shiksa he was converting to Judaism — whom he allegedly also pushed to have … Continue reading
Posted in R. Leib Tropper, Shannon Orand
Tagged converting to judaism, cutie pie, new york post, orand, orthodox rabbi, reuven blau
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Rabbi Leib Tropper – A Talent For Scandal
From Wikipedia: In 2004, Trooper was the main force behind the ban of Rabbi Nathan Slifkin‘s books. Rabbi Slifkin explores in his books conflicts and resolutions between traditional Judaism and modern science. [3] In 2006, Tropper revoked the conversion of … Continue reading
Posted in R. Leib Tropper
Tagged jerusalem hotel, letter 6, orthodox rabbi, rabbi nathan, slifkin, traditional judaism
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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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Jewish Links
From Hirhurim: YU students create wind-powered (non-kosher) menorah: link R. Eliezer Melamed told he must condemn IDF insubordination: link Mystery illness at Ramaz: link Prof. Yosef Yerushalmi passes away: link Disney’s first animated movie about a Jewish American Princess (joke!): … Continue reading
Posted in Hirhurim
Tagged census link, chief rabbinate, david greenfield, gann academy, jewish american princess, john hancock building, orthodox rabbi
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The Former Orthodox Rabbi Who Now Does Interfaith Weddings
I interviewed David Gruber in June 2008 about how he lost his faith and left the Orthodox rabbinate. Then I did another interview with him Nov. 30 about his appearance on MTV doing an interfaith wedding. Here’s an excerpt from … Continue reading
Posted in R. David S. Gruber
Tagged david i, different faiths, gruber, interfaith weddings, jewish wedding, mtv, orthodox rabbi, orthodox rabbinate
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The Curse Of Luke Ford
I imagine things from my rabbi’s perspective: Luke Ford was never my idea. Frankly, I blame Dennis Prager. This formerly Orthodox guy has a nationally syndicated radio show where he presents Judaism in very exciting terms, a little too exciting … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Dennis Prager, Personal, Rabbis
Tagged Dennis Prager, ethical monotheism, luke ford, one true god, orthodox rabbi, syndicated radio show
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How The RCA Gave Away The Game To R. Shlomo Amar
Israel’s chief rabbis have traditionally divided up their duties — one would handle Beit Din (Jewish law court handling conversions, divorces, business disputes etc) stuff and the other would handle everything else including kashrut (Jewish dietary laws). Then, every five … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Israel, Rabbis
Tagged basil herring, chief rabbi shlomo amar, chief rabbis, conversion controversy, orthodox rabbi, rabbi elyashiv, rabbi schwartz, rabbi shlomo amar
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What Animates Rabbi Gershon Bess?
He’s the most powerful Orthodox rabbi in Los Angeles. The yeshiva and kollel communities look to him for guidance. He is the power behind the RCC. What does he want? What is his vision? He strikes me as a man … Continue reading
Posted in R. Gershon Bess, R. Yehuda Bukspan
Tagged bess, David Rue, gershon, Kollel, orthodox community, orthodox rabbi, rabbi elyashiv, RCC
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Is It Permitted To Admire Goyim?
Many of the Orthodox kids I know collect cards of the great rabbis rather than baseball cards. Professor Marc B. Shapiro blogs: Although he might not be fired, any Modern Orthodox rabbi who stated as follows would also be in … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro
Tagged belsky, collecting baseball cards, english language book, Marc B. Shapiro, orthodox rabbi, professor marc
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Cheating The Goyim
In my limited experience, most right-wing Orthodox rabbis permit cheating on taxes and other cheating of the goyim. Most Modern Orthodox rabbis I know forbid this behavior. A friend of mine recently wanted to pay cash to have his car … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy
Tagged goyim, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, orthodox jew, orthodox rabbi, wine industry
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