- 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: mashgiach
The Jewish Week Covers Whistleblower Robert Frank
Joel emails me: LukeFord, In recents weeks I have been following a line of posts that you have on your website regarding a disgruntled employee of Montefiore hospital, Mr. Robert Frank. It appears to me that till now no evidence … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, Robert Frank, The Jewish Week
Tagged disciplinary measures, mashgiach, montefiore hospital, montefiore medical center, proper journalism, unstable person
Comments Off on The Jewish Week Covers Whistleblower Robert Frank
The Kashrut Whistleblower
Lou emails: Hi, Luke. I’m sure Mr. Frank appreciates that you and other Jewish bloggers are helping him blow the whistle on the O.U. But has it occurred to you that the man is at least slightly unhinged? Even a … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, Robert Frank
Tagged foremost concern, Kashrut, latkes, mashgiach, roaches, whistleblower
Comments Off on The Kashrut Whistleblower
Montefiore Hospital Whistleblower
New York mashgiach Robert Frank emails: DEAR MR FORD, ENCLOSED IS A PEST CONTROL REPORT AND A INVOICE SHOWING NON KOSHER CANDY FOR MONTEFIORE HOSPITAL AT 1825 EASTCHESTER RD BRONX, NY. 10461. THE INFESTATION REPORT SHOWS 100 ROACHES, WHICH OF … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, Robert Frank
Tagged eastchester rd, kosher candy, mashgiach, montefiore hospital, sad state of affairs, soup kettles
Comments Off on Montefiore Hospital Whistleblower
How Am I A Moral Leader?
From my live cam chat: guest16: how are you a moral leader ? guest16: well guest16: hello Beth: Give him a minute… Beth: Luke, if I beg for your attention will you blog about me? I thrive on negative attention. … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged golden calf, lady of the lake, live cam chat, luke ford, mashgiach, moral leader, negative attention
Comments Off on How Am I A Moral Leader?
How Did Kashrut Become So Sexy?
Twenty years ago, if you met a mashgiach, you assumed he was not smart enough to be a rabbi. Working in kashrut certification was a low-paying, unprestigious job. Now it is a power center. It is a money-maker. The RCC … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, RCC
Tagged corn syrup, kosher certification, mashgiach, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, potato starch
Comments Off on How Did Kashrut Become So Sexy?
New York Mashgiach Says Orthodox Union Only Interested In Making Money, Not In Policing Kashrut
According to Wikipedia: "In Judaism, a Mashgiach (Hebrew: ?????, pl. ???????, mashgichim) is a person who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment." Thursday evening, Robert Frank, a New York mashgiach, emailed me: "Dear Mr. Ford, I would like … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Jewish Journalism, Kashrut, Orthodox Union, Robert Frank
Tagged consumer fraud, consumer fruad, hospital cafeteria, kosher status, kosher supervision, mashgiach, Orthodox Union
Comments Off on New York Mashgiach Says Orthodox Union Only Interested In Making Money, Not In Policing Kashrut
The Mussar Shmooze
Shmuel Sofer writes: The Mussar Movement made famous by R. Yisroel Salanter and his students held that pure Torah study might not adequately train students and adults to perfect their lives and align them with the ethical principles and worldview … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged dessler, ethical development, mashgiach, Mussar, torah study, weekly parsha
Comments Off on The Mussar Shmooze
OU Certifies Toilet Bowl Cleaner As Kosher
I am greatly relieved as I always enjoyed a cup of this cleaner every morning (it is cheaper than orange juice and more effective in promoting my digestion). Professor Marc B. Shapiro blogs: In a previous post I showed a … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodox Union
Tagged Agriprocessors, Marc B. Shapiro, mashgiach, meat producers, public outrage, toilet bowl
Comments Off on OU Certifies Toilet Bowl Cleaner As Kosher
Rubashkins Caught Red-Handed
FailedMessiah.com broke this story. Mashgiach writes: Rubashkin’s 11.5 Million Dollar, PR firm, 5W,(click for Link) recently hired by Rubashkin to whitewash their tainted criminal image, has not only not helped clear Rubashkins Meat co., of any Criminal Image but got … Continue reading
Posted in Agriprocessors
Tagged 5wpr, criminal impersonation, federal immigration, kosher slaughterhouse, mashgiach, target
Comments Off on Rubashkins Caught Red-Handed