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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
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 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)
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* 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)
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* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
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Tag Archives: James kugel
Is James Kugel Orthodox?
James Kugel is a famous Bible scholar who takes unorthodox approaches to understanding the origins of the Torah. Dr. Marc B. Shapiro says in a 2007 lecture for Torah in Motion on Rabbi David Zvi Hoffman: “The idea that the … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, James Kugel, Marc B. Shapiro
Tagged bible scholar, James kugel, louis finkelstein, Marc B. Shapiro, shomer, torah in motion, umberto cassuto, unorthodox approaches
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Providing Moral Leadership To A Kid At A Chareidi Yeshiva
yeshivaboy: hey luke, i have a quick question, did you find out about the documentary hypothesis before or after your conversion YourMoralLeader: as a child YourMoralLeader: my dad has a phd in bible yeshivaboy: and you converted anyway YourMoralLeader: yep … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, James Kugel, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, Personal, Rabbis
Tagged Dennis Prager, documentary hypothesis, James kugel, marc shapiro, orthodox judaism, torah in motion
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Biblical Criticism Vs. Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox rabbi Gil Student writes: Dr. James Kugel responds to Dr. Moshe Bernstein’s opinion piece about his speech at YU (link to Dr. Bernstein’s, link to Dr. Kugel’s). In my opinion, Dr. Kugel’s letter is disingenuous because: He implies that … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Orthodoxy
Tagged academic scholars, dr bernstein, gil student, James kugel, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, personal theology, scholarly consensus
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Reconsidering Bible Scholar James Kugel
From Hirhurim: R. Dr. Moshe Bernstein, a Professor of Bible at Yeshiva College, writes a very eloquent (and surprisingly forceful) opinion piece on the Kugel incident (link) in the current issue of The Commentator (link): Why Lines Need to be … Continue reading
Posted in James Kugel
Tagged bible scholar, Hirhurim, James kugel, professional colleague, yeshiva college, Yeshiva University
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James Kugel – Heretic?
Dr. Kugel, Bible scholar, was the target of a well-received (in Orthodox circles) pamphlets warning Orthodox parents about the dangers of sending their kids to secular universities. Anyone who thinks that Modernity and Orthodoxy are compatible is not Modernity and … Continue reading
Posted in James Kugel
Tagged bible scholar, critical scholarship, James kugel, orthodox circles, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbis
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‘The Tenacy of Unreasonable Beliefs’ II
Here’s the second part of my interview with author Solomon Schimmel. bRead reviews of the book "The Tenacity of Unreasonable Beliefs: Fundamentalism and the Fear of Truth" here. Solomon: "To the extent that I am ethical and moral — I … Continue reading
Posted in Author Interviews
Tagged adult education committee, bible scholar, classical reflections, fundamentalism, James kugel, orthodox judaism, orthodox shul, righteous man, Solomon Schimmel, tenacity
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You Can Be Modern Or You Can Be Orthodox Or You Can Lie To Yourself And Others
There is no way to reconcile Orthodox Judaism with modern disinterested scholarship. You can be Orthodoxprax (practice Orthodox Judaism while keeping your heretical views to yourself) but then you are not honest to the religion you practice. Orthodox academics making … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Orthodoxy
Tagged bible scholar, intellectual discourse, James kugel, orthodox judaism, stern college, Yeshiva University
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The Secret Prayer Life Of Jews
A man rocked back and forth while reading in shul James Kugel‘s book "How to Read the Bible." "I’m davening to the Documentary Hypothesis," he explains to his friend.
Posted in Prayer
Tagged documentary hypothesis, how to read the bible, James kugel, prayer life, secret prayer
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I Hope This Isn’t My Last Blog Post
I got a hair cut this afternoon at Supercuts on Pico near Rexford. I asked for it to be short on the front and sides and to be left long in the back. The lady cut it short all the … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged Aish HaTorah, coffee bean, how to read the bible, James kugel, la cienega, pico blvd
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