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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)
* 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: orthodox communities
The Miracle Of Israel
Rabbi Eliyahu Safran writes: For me, Israel is personal. I was born as Israel’s War of Independence raged, just weeks after the state’s miraculous birth. As I lay in the hospital room with my mother, the windows shattered with the … Continue reading
Posted in Israel, Orthodoxy
Tagged forest hills new york, galut, ingathering of exiles, orthodox communities, rabbi eliyahu safran, sacred days
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When The Rabbi’s Wife Is Not A Rebbetzin
I remember feeling taken aback about 13 years ago when the wife of a Modern Orthodox pulpit rabbi told me in no uncertain terms that she was not a rebbetzin. These days most Orthodox communities are seeking a “Rabbinic couple” … Continue reading
Posted in Beth Jacob, R. Kalman Topp, Rabbis
Tagged Beth Jacob, orthodox communities, rabbi, rebbetzin, uncertain terms
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The Outsider
Are you Shomer Mitzvas? Shomer Shabbos? I assume yes but I am asking. Why do you feel like an outsider in the LA orthodox community? You have mentioned this in your videos and on the blog. I understand your respect, … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged admiration, decency, emes, fascination, fellow jews, frum, indiscretion, isolation, laje, orthodox communities, orthodox community, Orthodoxy, outsider, personal questions, shiksas, shomer shabbos, shul, sore subject, Torah, youtube videos
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Aussie Principal Of Yeshiva Accused Of Molestation Is Hiding Out In Israel
"The case of Malka Leifer needs to be in the news," says a source. "She’s hiding out in Beit Shemesh and has left hurt people all over the world. This is a cult-like case." From The Awareness Center: In 2000, … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse
Tagged Awareness Center, Beit Shemesh, forensic evidence, girls school, israel girls, israel school, jewish law, leifer, marriage partner, orthodox communities, psychologist, quot, Rabbis, religious court, rosenbaum, seven years, sex crimes, sexual predator, spokesperson, Yeshiva
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Do Gentiles Possess Holiness?
The more religious you go in Jewish life, the more likely you are to encounter beliefs that Gentiles have little value. There’s a good discussion on Failed Messiah: RabbidW posts: "Jews do not plan on killing nonJews. Jews speak of … Continue reading
Posted in FailedMessiah
Tagged altruism, divine soul, downfall, enigmatic smile, faithful god, gentiles, heaven, holiness, interrogation, jew, jewish life, Jews, kuzari, leibowitz, messiah, orthodox communities, outreach worker, prayers, principle, rebbe, religions, sacri, Yeshiva, yeshivas
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Orthodox Rabbis Lead Fight To Muzzle Alleged Victims Of Abuse
ABC News reports: Engelman’s is among a handful of publicized cases of alleged abuse within the insular Orthodox Jewish community. But alleged victims and their advocates say it is far from an isolated instance. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office, which … Continue reading →