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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:
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: A Life Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
- Strange Bedfellows in the Academy: Alliance Theory and the Straussian Schism
- Tournier on Desmond Ford
- The Fence and the Blessing: How Jews Have Thought About Gentiles
- Tournier on Luke Ford
- Tournier on The Nostradamus Kid
- An Alliance Theory of Antisemitism
- Tournier on Cinema Paradiso and Desmond Ford
- The Self-Hating Jew
- The Alliance Theory in the Academy
- The Borrowed Robe: How Antisemitism Dresses in Each Age’s Virtue
- A Place For You
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 rabbi
Spiritual Highs Are Hard To Come By In Judaism
A lot of people want to know what I was feeling when I was converting to Judaism. On that last day as I stood naked in the mikveh and saying the blessings in Hebrew that would officially make me Jewish, … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion
Tagged chronic fatigue syndrome, converting to judaism, orthodox rabbi, orthodox rabbis, orthodox shul, reform rabbi
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Can You Compare Rav Elyashiv With Reb Moshe?
Historian Marc B. Shapiro replies to my question: “Because of his political importance, Rav Elyashiv had more influence that R. Moshe, but R. Moshe also spoke to the non-haredi world. R. Elyashiv had no influence outside that world.” “R. Elyashiv’s … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Modern Orthodox
Tagged elyashiv, extreme elements, israel prize, orthodox rabbi, rabbi moshe feinstein, rabbi yosef, rabbinical authorities, reb moshe
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The Need For A Religious Jew To Talk To The World
An Orthodox rabbi writes an open letter to reggae singer Matisyahu: When your beard came off and your large black yarmulke remained I took pause, but your reassuring Tweets kept my hopes high. The pictures you recently Tweeted of you … Continue reading
Posted in Matisyahu
Tagged dallas metroplex, Matisyahu, meat business, orthodox rabbi, religious jew, wiz khalifa
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What’s The Difference Between A Torah Scholar And A Gadol?
In a lecture on rabbinic biographies for Torah in Motion, Orthodox rabbi and history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “In the haredi world [ultra-Orthodoxy], [Rav J.B. Soloveitchik] is recognized as a Torah scholar but not as a gadol [great rabbi]. … Continue reading
Posted in Marc B. Shapiro, Orthodoxy, R. J. B. Soloveitchik, Rabbis
Tagged chazon ish, haredi world, Marc B. Shapiro, orthodox rabbi, torah in motion, torah scholar
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Rabbi Shmuley Boteach Does Not Back Down
Yesterday I blogged about the televised conflict about Hollywood Jews between the Orthodox rabbi and the Jewish convert to Catholicism. Now Rabbi Boteach blogs: Now Coren has shoved his foot far deeper into his mouth with a personal diatribe against … Continue reading
Posted in Shmuley Boteach
Tagged early morning flight, kosher meal, orthodox rabbi, personal insults, rabbi boteach, rabbi shmuley boteach
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Doing Something Rude To Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow is the most visible representative of organized religion in America today. And there’s something about good people such as Tim (if you love God or goodness, you gotta love Tim Tebow) that makes bad people hate on them. … Continue reading
Posted in Tim Tebow
Tagged Dennis Prager, emotional game, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, pittsburgh steelers, talmud study
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Counting His Blessings!
Jeff* emails: Hi Luke, Have a look at the following article. It discusses the escapades of Rabbi Uzi Rivlin, an orthodox Rabbi who actually taught religious school at Temple Beth Abraham in Tarrytown, NY, where I went to Sunday school … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse
Tagged counting my blessings, david holtz, fifth grade teacher, jerry sandusky, orthodox rabbi, temple beth abraham
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Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto Framed?
Pico-Robertson boasts a prominent and popular Pinto shul on Pico and Bedford. The New York Times reports: Six years ago, an Orthodox rabbi and mystic who traces his lineage to King David moved to New York from Israel and amassed … Continue reading
Posted in Pinto
Tagged extortion plot, federal investigators, hebrew classes, jewish publications, lebron james, orthodox rabbi
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Parashat Vayera (Genesis 18:1-22:24)
Why doesn’t the rabbi touch his girlfriend? Is he a freak? No. He’s just an authentic Orthodox Jew. All Jews are expected by Jewish law to not touch the opposite sex (except for spouse and family). Most Orthodox Jews observe … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged congregational rabbi, orthodox jew, orthodox jews, orthodox rabbi, orthodox rabbinate, rabbi chaim
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Gary Rosenblatt On Marc Gafni
Editor of The Jewish Week, Gary Rosenblatt, writes: The news this week that Marc Gafni faces new allegations of sexual misconduct from those in the “spiritual wisdom” community with which he has been associated the last five years was sad, … Continue reading
Posted in Gary Rosenblatt, Marc Gafni
Tagged Gary Rosenblatt, jewish spiritual renewal, marc gafni, orthodox rabbi, spiritual wisdom, witch hunt
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