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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
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- 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)
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Tag Archives: observant jews
The High Price Of Kosher Lettuce
The Jewish Journal has been working on this story for more than a year: The presence of even one whole bug, dead or alive, can render an entire vegetable treif — unkosher. On this matter, Orthodox rabbis are unequivocal. “From … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut
Tagged gaza strip, kosher information bureau, observant jews, orthodox rabbis, rabbi eliezer, torah perspective
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Observant Jews In Particular Should Not Talk On Their Cell Phones While Driving
Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky writes: “As halachikly observant Jews, we go to great lengths to lower our risk of sinning. We do not climb trees on Shabbat lest we inadvertently violate Shabbat by breaking a branch. Many of us do not … Continue reading
Posted in R. Yosef Kanefsky
Tagged blowing shofar, Dennis Prager, mitzva, observant jews, rabbi yosef, system demands
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Chabad Shuls Host The Most Diverse Crowd On Yom Kippur
In popular mythology, Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. In most shuls, you have to be a member (or buy a special ticket) to attend these services. Most Jews only go to shul twice a year … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad
Tagged chabadnik, high holiday prayer book, observant jew, observant jews, personal transformation, secular jews
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Whatever Happened To The Kosher Status Of Brooklyn Water Bagel?
The short answer I thought was that the kosher supervisor for Brooklyn Water Bagel is EarthKosher, which is not recognized as a valid kosher supervisor by observant Jews. I was wrong. Keep reading. There’s an Italian pizza place on Pico … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut
Tagged brooklyn pizza, italian pizza, kosher supervision, observant jews, orthodox jews, water bagels, Young Israel
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Problems In Modern Orthodoxy
Gadi Pickholz emails: In Baltimore, the Rambam Academy has closed completely. In Phoenix, the two major modern orthodox schools have merged. In the Silicon Valley, one of the main schools has closed. Even in LA there are serious problems necessitating … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox
Tagged attrition rate, chief rabbi, enormous void, mainstream market, observant jews, sudden influx
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Latest Torah Talk Response
Greg Leake writes: Hi Luke, Another great session with ZZ Top and the Spaceman. The Torah Corral was a funny bit and so was the list of 10 pejorative things to say about Luke. Cruel, but amusing nonetheless. Quite a … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Personal, R. Rabbs
Tagged brother james, christian conservatives, fellow travellers, jewish families, observant jews, paul the apostle, rabbs
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God Hates Sodomy
This week’s Torah portion is Haazinu (the end of Deuteronomy). On Torah Talk, Rabbi Rabbs discusses Rosh Hashanah, the parsha, and the Ten Commandments of Luke Ford: * You shall laugh at Christianity, and compare believing in Jesus to believing … Continue reading
Posted in Personal, R. Rabbs, Torah
Tagged Dennis Prager, jacob milgrom, observant jews, orthodox conversion, torah portion, torah studies
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Is The Elevator Kosher?
The New York Times reports: Tangible things occupy the days of most building managers in New York City. Hot water, floods, bugs, rent checks and so on. But last week, newly added to the tenant issues facing building managers like … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy
Tagged building managers, elevator button, observant jews, orthodox rabbinate, rise apartment, water floods
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Aish HaTorah’s One Year Anniversary In Tel Aviv
From The Jerusalem Post: "Everyone finds their way to Tel Aviv," enthused Rabbi David Ziering last week, as Aish HaTorah Tel Aviv celebrated its first anniversary, ironically enough, in Jerusalem. Although Aish HaTorah has long been known as one of … Continue reading
Posted in Aish HaTorah
Tagged Aish HaTorah, glaring omission, jerusalem post, mainstream judaism, observant jews, rabbi david
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Where The Girls At?
I primarily go to yoga for the awesome spiritual insights but many of my less enlightened male friends go for the girls. So which kundalini yoga studio has the hottest chicks wearing the tightest outfits? Golden Bridge by far over … Continue reading
Posted in Dating, JConnect LA, Yoga
Tagged chicks, golden bridge, high school graduates, jewish populations, male friends, observant jews, orthodox judaism, orthodox synagogue, spiritual insights, yoga studio
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