- 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: jewish observance
The Pendulum Of Jewish Observance
Full tuition at Jewish high school such as YULA and Shalhevet runs close to $30,000 a year. A Jewish mother emails: Hi Luke: When parents send their kids to Jewish school all their lives, they expect them to be religious. … Continue reading
Posted in Shalhevet
Tagged dozen meetings, jewish high school, jewish observance, jewish school, shabbat observance, Shalhevet
Comments Off on The Pendulum Of Jewish Observance
You Can Live A Lie For Only So Long
I did not shave or cut my beard for almost four years. Then I cut it off three months ago. A couple of weeks ago, Matisyahu cut off his beard. Many people have asked me for my opinion. I say … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged beard, jewish observance, Matisyahu, orthodox jews, pretense
Comments Off on You Can Live A Lie For Only So Long
Morry’s Fireplace Hosted A Big Simchat Torah Party Thursday Night
So I came out of the Happy Minyan about 9:30 p.m. Thursday and walked east on Pico Blvd. I noticed a huge crowd outside Morry’s Fireplace (operated by Aish HaTorah). Aish used some sharp thinking to set up this meeting … Continue reading
Posted in Aish HaTorah
Tagged anglo saxon, ashkenazi jew, jewish observance, middle easterners, persian jews, simchat torah
Comments Off on Morry’s Fireplace Hosted A Big Simchat Torah Party Thursday Night
Half Of Modern Orthodox Teens Text On Shabbos
The addiction to texting is so severe among Modern Orthodox kids that about half of them text on Shabbos according to this Jewish Week article. This is a really big deal because texting on Shabbos violates the Sabbath and more … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox
Tagged cardinal law, jewish observance, jewish week, sabbath observance, shabbat experience
Comments Off on Half Of Modern Orthodox Teens Text On Shabbos
Racism In The Orthodox Community
Bill McCaulley writes: Dear Mr. Ford: I would wish to respond to a posting concerning racism among Orthodox Jews. I came upon the post recently I realize my reply is not timely, but I am greatly intrigued by the subject. … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Race
Tagged chabad rabbi, jewish observance, lashon hara, orthodox conversion, rabbi akiva, talmud torah
Comments Off on Racism In The Orthodox Community
Jewish News Links
From Hirhurim: Possible split among Hesder roshei yeshiva: link Man-made tools found in Israel dating back 750,000 years: link WJC criticizes pope’s decision to beatify Pius XII: link Spinka Rebbe sentenced to 2 years in prison: link RCA statement on … Continue reading
Posted in Hirhurim
Tagged host nations, jewish observance, link man, orthodox jew, pius xii, prison link, roshei yeshiva, yair, yehoshua
Comments Off on Jewish News Links
They’re Building An Eruv In The Hamptons
Newsday reports: In a first for the East End, creation of an eruv, a symbolic fence used in Orthodox Jewish observance, is being sought by a synagogue in Westhampton Beach. The resolution sought by The Hampton Synagogue is expected to … Continue reading
Posted in Eruv
Tagged brooklyn heights, Eruv, far rockaway, haefeli, hamptons, jewish law, jewish observance, long island power authority, newsday, orthodox jews, plastic poles, religious law, schneier, Synagogue, traditional families, tuchman, utility poles, utility wires, westhampton beach, work session
Comments Off on They’re Building An Eruv In The Hamptons