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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:
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- 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)
- 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
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
An Orthodox Rabbi Cheers The Overturning Of Prop 8
Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky was the only Orthodox rabbi in California, to the best of my knowledge, who went public with his opposition to Prop 8. I don’t agree with the rabbi on this but he argues his case well in … Continue reading
Posted in Homosexuality, R. Yosef Kanefsky
Tagged life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, rabbi yosef, religious connotation
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Jan Perry Interview
Jan Perry represents the ninth district on the Los Angeles City Council. She plans to run for mayor in 2013. We talk by phone Friday morning. Here’s a transcript of the parts of the interview I find most interesting: Luke: … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged belief system, christian evangelist, great vigor, jan perry, orthodox judaism, religious journey
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He Called Me Levi!
My Hebrew name is “Levi Ben Avraham.” My goyisha name is Luke Carey Ford. When Orthodox Jews, particularly Orthodox rabbis, call me “Luke” or “Mr. Ford”, I always feel like I am in trouble. Why? Because I can’t reconcile the … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged carey ford, lashon hara, luke ford, orthodox jew, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi
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A Convert Laments
I’m tired of all this Jewish lamenting over the latest conversion bill. I’m a convert to Orthodox Judaism and a well respected one at that! Like Jewish philosopher Jacob Stein, you’d be hard-pressed to find any Orthodox Jew who has … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Haredi, Orthodoxy
Tagged american jews, conversion program, jewish identity, Jewish Journal, orthodox conversion, orthodox judaism, panties in a knot, second intifada, statue of jesus
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Jewish Philosopher Blogger Jacob Stein
A convert to Orthodox Judaism at age 16 (under the auspices of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein), Jacob Stein writes the Jewish Philosopher blog. My favorite post of his is about how to catch secret Orthodox atheists. It should be required reading … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Orthodoxy
Tagged jacob stein, james michener, jewish philosopher, luke ford, orthodox judaism, orthodox religion, orthodox shul, rabbi moshe feinstein
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Righteous Rasha Blogger Tova Schreiber
A Bais Yaakov graduate, Tova Schreiber is finishing her degrees in Economics. She writes the Righteous Rasha blog. Tova: “I never would consider myself a Bais Yaakov girl… My upbringing was Modern Orthodox. We didn’t eat cholov Yisrael, we listened … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Orthodoxy, Tova Schreiber
Tagged Bais Yaakov, Modern Orthodox, orthodox judaism, rasha, rock n roll music, sheitel
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Should We Change Jewish Law?
A convert to Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo writes: I teach Jewish Philosophy. I am confronted daily with countless young Jews who search for an authentic Jewish religious way of life, but are unable to find spiritual satisfaction … Continue reading
Posted in R. Ari Kahn, R. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Tagged nathan lopes cardozo, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, rabbi ari kahn, rabbi kahn, rabbi nathan, religious jews, spiritual satisfaction
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You May Not Pray In Front Of Nakedness
I remember once I met an Orthodox guy who was a nudist. He loved to lie out naked in the sun. He was caught a few times and got into trouble with his religious community. It was all so weird … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy
Tagged gil student, nyc subway, orach, orthodox judaism, public nudism, short skirts
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When In Doubt, Call Your Opponents Racists
Whenever I hear the charge of “racism” these days, I’m immediately suspicious because I’m so used to the accusation being tossed around without evidence. I’m also tired of Jews using their putative Orthodox status to lobby for non-Orthodox positions. I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Ashkenazim, Haredi, R. Brad Hirschfield, Sephardim
Tagged Conservative Judaism, jewish theological seminary, lengthy bio, liberal jews, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, rabbinic ordination
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Middlemarch by George Eliot
I’m near the end of this novel. A few weeks ago, I saw the BBC miniseries. I’m struck by the shunning delivered to one of the major characters in the novel when it is discovered that he came by his … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Orthodoxy
Tagged bbc miniseries, george eliot, middlemarch, moral flexibility, moral standards, orthodox judaism, reading middlemarch, tanach
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