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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:
- Tournier on Desmond Ford
- The Borrowed Robe: How Antisemitism Dresses in Each Age’s Virtue
- The Fence and the Blessing: How Jews Have Thought About Gentiles
- A Place For You
- 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
- 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)
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)
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* 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)
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* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
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Tag Archives: orthodox jews
Jeffrey S. Gurock’s Social History Of Orthodox Jews In America
I’ve met Dr. Gurock. He was wonderful. I loved talking to him. He seemed like a real mentch. He’s an engaging speaker and writer, but I am disappointed by sections of his latest book "Orthodox Jews in America." It purports … Continue reading
Posted in Jews
Tagged comrade in arms, daily prayers, jeffrey s gurock, jews in america, orthodox jews, Yeshiva University
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Envy
"I had lunch with these great people," said my friend. "You know them. They seem to have it all. They seem to have a great marriage. They have a beautiful home. They have beautiful children. They have a great dog. … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Personal, Pico/Robertson
Tagged beautiful home, envy, great dog, har, orthodox jews
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Orthodox Bible Study
Rabbi Gil Student writes: Rabbi Hayyim Angel, an extremely popular Bible professor and the rabbi of a large and storied synagogue in Manhattan. He recently published his second book — Revealed Texts, Hidden Meanings: Finding the Religious Significance in Tanakh … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Orthodoxy
Tagged creative thinkers, gil student, nechama leibowitz, orthodox jew, orthodox jews, traditional attitudes
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Feeling Like An Outsider In Orthodox Judaism
I have a several close female friends who’ve flirted with Orthodox Judaism but not finished conversions to it. They look obviously goyish. They feel like conspicuous outsiders to the Jewish community, and they fear that they will always be viewed … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Orthodoxy
Tagged conversion programs, conversion to judaism, female friends, orthodox conversion, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism
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Faux Calls For Dialogue
Lawrence Grossman writes in the Forward: "Is it too much to hope that it also might encourage steps toward renewing respectful dialogue between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews?" When I was interviewing people in 2004 for my book on American Jewish … Continue reading
Posted in Jewish Journalism, Lawrence Grossman, Personal
Tagged interview request, Jewish Journalism, Lawrence Grossman, orthodox jews, respectful dialogue
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Yehuda Bukspan – The LA Rabbi Worth Standing For
As I make my way around Jewish life, I notice Orthodox Jews jumping to their feet to honor speakers. I’ve even seen Orthodox Jews rise to their feet to honor a woman! And a TV writer! I’m not into rising … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, R. Yehuda Bukspan, Rabbis
Tagged independent thinker, kosher overseers associates, ner israel rabbinical college, orthodox jews, rabbi yehuda, rabbi yehudah
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Gay Marriage Battle Lost
Rabbi Gil Student writes: Our interest is in the cultural atmosphere. As Orthodox Jews, we believe that homosexuality is not the norm. While we do not want to legislate what people do in their bedrooms and we certainly oppose discrimination … Continue reading
Posted in Homosexuality, Orthodoxy
Tagged family purity, gil student, mainstream view, orthodox jews, religious couple, secular jews
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The First Night
"Would you marry a girl who only had a Conservative conversion [to Judaism]?" my friend asked over lunch. "Or if she was only half-Jewish. Only her dad was Jewish." "I wouldn’t rule it out," I said. "When you find a … Continue reading
Posted in Dating, Personal, Sex
Tagged asani, conversion to judaism, having a nightmare, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, orthodox women
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Jewish News
Rabbi Gil Student writes: Gary Rosenblatt argues for government subsidies of secular studies in Jewish day schools (Jewish Week). Now that Solomon Schechters are struggling and not just yeshivas, he cares. The Maharat makes it to the list of Jews … Continue reading
Posted in Hirhurim
Tagged bernie madoff, Gary Rosenblatt, gil student, government subsidies, orthodox jews, resident scholar, student posts, yahrtzeit
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Will The Spinka Hasidim Scandal Slow Down The Money Laundering Rampant In Orthodox Yeshivas?
You would think the Spinka downfall would have put it to a stop. I’ve heard that even though only a few people have been named so far in that case, there is a long list of major donors in the … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Spinka, Yeshiva
Tagged federal grand jury, financial fraud, hebrew academy, jewish institution, orthodox jews, plea deals
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