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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
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- * 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)
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Tag Archives: Conservative Judaism
I’m A Judaism Junkie
I love Judaism. I can’t get enough. Reconstructionist Judaism. Reform Judaism. Conservative Judaism. Orthodox Judaism. Love it! Can’t get enough. I’m a Judaism junkie. Can’t get enough. Except for the davening and for some of the more painful restrictions. And … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Personal
Tagged arduous study, Conservative Judaism, jewish ethics, orthodox judaism, Reform Judaism
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What’s Going On With Emek Hebrew Academy In The San Fernando Valley?
A source tells me Feb. 12: “Emek is getting rid of its two principals (Judaic — Rabbi P. Wachsman and Secular — Gabriella Shapiro) after this year. They are claiming that Wachsman is retiring, but the word around the valley … Continue reading
Posted in Emek Hebrew
Tagged Conservative Judaism, educational background, emek hebrew academy, federal prosecutor, machers, new blood, nice woman, principals, professional educator, San Fernando Valley, secular studies, shabbos robes, tendler, torah studies, whole lot of things
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Dancing With The Rabbis
Oh man, I want to go to this so bad. Who wants to buy me a ticket? Mixed-dancing is one of the big no-nos of Orthodox Judaism, but not of Conservative Judaism as this email from AJU (the West Coast … Continue reading
Posted in AJU
Tagged bradley shavit artson, Conservative Judaism, karina smirnoff, louis van amstel, orthodox judaism, rabbi elliot dorff
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The Redemption Of Natan Slifkin?
Rabbi Slifkin blogs: Beginning nearly six years ago, I was the target of a campaign which caused incredible hardship for my family and myself. Today, several years later, Baruch Hashem I am fine. And where are the people who engineered … Continue reading
Posted in R. Natan Slifkin
Tagged abuses of power, audio recordings, Conservative Judaism, financial scandal, shiurim, yeshivah
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The Jewish Inquisition
On Torah Talk at 7pm PST Monday, Rabbi Rabbs and I will discuss controversial Orthodox rabbis on the left: Chaim Seidler-Feller, Avi Weiss, Yitz Greenberg, Joseph Telushkin and Yosef Kanefsky. For too long, the rabbis have judged me. Now I … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Personal, R. Rabbs
Tagged Conservative Judaism, journalistic perspective, orthodox rabbi, petty grievances, rabbi avi weiss, religious denominations
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Jews Have A Good Sense Of Themselves
A pretty woman who converted to Conservative Judaism told me once, “Jewish men don’t know their own level. Non-Jewish men know their level and they don’t approach women out of their league but every Jewish male is raised by a … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager
Tagged Conservative Judaism, Dennis Prager, jewish male, sixth lecture, tower of babel, tower of babel story
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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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Ivanka Trump Marries Jared Kushner In An Orthodox Ceremony
From Hirhurim: Rav Elyashiv’s rulings hit mainstream media: link Wikipedia striving for balance on divisive issues: link NYC Dept of Health issues poster to wash hands and recite the blessing after using the bathroom: link Ivanka Trump married Jared Kushner … Continue reading
Posted in Hirhurim, Jews
Tagged charity money, christian money, Conservative Judaism, ivanka trump, jewish philosophy, orthodox judaism, philosophy link, rav elyashiv, torah values
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Are Reform/Conservative Judaism A Separate Religion?
Orthodox Rabbi Reuven Spolter writes: In a "Modest Proposal" styled op-ed piece in the Jerusalem Post, Rabbi David Forman finally throws down the gauntlet. After years of trying to gain recognition from the government as legitimate streams of Judaism and … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Judaism, Israel, Orthodoxy, Reform Judaism
Tagged american judaism, Conservative Judaism, conservative movements, liturgical traditions, orthodox rabbi, Reform Judaism
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