- https://PayPal.Me/lukeisback
"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
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: converting to judaism
Spiritual Highs Are Hard To Come By In Judaism
A lot of people want to know what I was feeling when I was converting to Judaism. On that last day as I stood naked in the mikveh and saying the blessings in Hebrew that would officially make me Jewish, … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion
Tagged chronic fatigue syndrome, converting to judaism, orthodox rabbi, orthodox rabbis, orthodox shul, reform rabbi
Comments Off on Spiritual Highs Are Hard To Come By In Judaism
A Particularly Wrenching Torah Talk
It’s not uncommon for me to pour my heart out on Torah Talk (though most of the time I hide behind my cynicism). Tonight was particularly painful. I told the truth about a letch who hit on girls during kiddish … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, Torah
Tagged converting to judaism, Dennis Prager, frequent moves, kiddish, letch, popular crowd
Comments Off on A Particularly Wrenching Torah Talk
A Convert’s Sad Story
Anonymous writes: I am a convert. There can be no question that I am halakhically Jewish, at least if you trust the Lubavitchers to know halakha. I am writing to protest the downright shameful treatment of converts by the Orthodox … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Haredi
Tagged conservative rabbi, converting to judaism, first five books, orthodox jews, orthodox rabbi, shameful treatment
Comments Off on A Convert’s Sad Story
Finding An Orthodox Wife
A young man converting to Judaism tells me: “The problem I have is that most orthodox women (90% +???) won’t recognize a ger (a convert to Judaism) unless he has an RCA-approved conversion.” I don’t think that’s true. Unless you … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Marriage, Orthodoxy, R. David Rue, R. Michael Melchior
Tagged conversion status, conversion to judaism, converting to judaism, orthodox conversion, orthodox women, rabbi michael
Comments Off on Finding An Orthodox Wife
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
Comments Off on New York Post Covers R. Leib Tropper Scandal
Who Was R. Leib Tropper Talking To On Those Tapes? Shannon Orand – Outreach Administrator At The Eternal Jewish Family?
Here’s a moving video about the process of converting to Judaism, check out the inspiring words of Rabbi Leib Tropper: The Eternal Jewish Family is an independent organization dedicated to the preservation of the authentic Jewish family, as is dictated … Continue reading
Posted in R. Leib Tropper, Shannon Orand
Tagged 1 million dollars, converting to judaism, ejf, jewish spouse, monsey new york, torah center, venerable sage
Comments Off on Who Was R. Leib Tropper Talking To On Those Tapes? Shannon Orand – Outreach Administrator At The Eternal Jewish Family?
One Holy Sabbath
The following play is inspired by real events during one Pico-Robertson Friday night in January 2008. ACT ONE Levi, about 40 years old, is the first person out of shul on this Friday night in winter. He walks rapidly, heading … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction
Tagged Aish HaTorah, christine white, conversion program, converting to judaism, cross tattoo, daven, holy sabbath, robertson blvd
Comments Off on One Holy Sabbath
Luke Ford’s Grotto! Kids Will Love It!
A friend who’s converting to Judaism emails me: "I was talking to my mom on the phone just now, trying to explain to her what a sukkah is. I told her it was like a hut, a temporary dwelling place, … Continue reading
Posted in Mickey Kaus, Personal
Tagged bureau chiefs, converting to judaism, industry attempts, jack shafer, luke ford, Mickey Kaus
Comments Off on Luke Ford’s Grotto! Kids Will Love It!
Even Torah Study Can Lead To Immorality
Josh emails: I attend a weekly parshah group. This past Thursday, I saw a young Russian woman who’d been absent from the class for a few weeks. She immediately asked if I had missed her. Well, I go to this … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged converting to judaism, holy torah, russian woman, silky smooth legs, torah classes, torah study
Comments Off on Even Torah Study Can Lead To Immorality
Excited About Judaism
As a convert to Judaism, I hear from a lot of people who are also interested in converting to Judaism. Among the many reasons they list for their love of Judaism, excitement over the many demands of Jewish Law is … Continue reading
Posted in Halacah, Judaism, Orthodoxy
Tagged converting to judaism, ethical monotheism, jewish group, jewish law, new religion
Comments Off on Excited About Judaism