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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 shul
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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How Influential Is Dennis Prager?
I’m struck by the awe that thousands of unlearned Jews such as myself display towards Dennis Prager (we revere him for his ability to present Jewish texts and ideas in a rational and inspiring way) and the lack of awe … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager
Tagged berel wein, Dennis Prager, google scholar search, google search, orthodox shul, talmud scholar
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This Week’s Torah Portion – Parashat Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10)
I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs Mondays at 7:00 pm PST on my cam and on YouTube. Facebook Fan Page. This week we study Parashat Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10). * Is the Jewish soul different from the non-Jewish soul? … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged converts to judaism, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, orthodox shul, reform temples, weekly torah portion
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Modern Orthodox Shul Chooses Chabad Rabbi
The Jewish Journal reports: On Dec. 19, at a closed-door meeting in Congregation Shaarei Tefila’s social hall, about 60 of the Modern Orthodox synagogue’s current members voted to hire Rabbi Moshe Kesselman to lead the shul. Kesselman has been serving … Continue reading
Posted in Shaarei Tefila
Tagged allan lowy, chabad rabbi, Jewish Journal, orthodox shul, orthodox synagogue, rabbi moshe
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Your Spiritual Leader
I remember a few years ago, I was davening at this Modern Orthodox shul and the rabbi got up and said to the congregation, “When you chose me as your spiritual leader…” And I thought, “What the hell? I never … Continue reading
Posted in Dennis Prager, Modern Orthodox
Tagged columbia community, cornell community, cornell students, Dennis Prager, heterosexual community, orthodox shul
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Things I Love About Modern Orthodox Judaism
The past couple of years, I’ve rarely spent time in a Modern Orthodox shul, but overall in the past 17 years, I’ve spent most of my shul time in Modern Orthodox shuls. I feel comfortable there. When you look at … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Orthodox
Tagged jewish scholarship, manual laborers, orthodox jews, orthodox minyan, orthodox shul, orthodox shuls
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This Story’s For Me
Yehuda emails: Luke, This story is for you. 1. It is about something in California. 2. The girl is a blonde. 3. It’s about male members. 4. It involves an Orthodox shul. 5. Someone gets kicked out of said Orthodox … Continue reading
Posted in Circumcision, Orthodoxy
Tagged amir taheri, california 2, circumcision, Dennis Prager, guardian, male members, orthodox shul, secondary literature, steinfeld, ucla daily bruin
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First Time In An Orthodox Shul
Jane emails: “Do you have any advice for me before I go walking into an Orthodox synagogue?” * Know that in Orthodox Judaism, men and women pray separately. The more Orthodox the community, the more men and women are separated, … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Orthodoxy
Tagged open toed shoes, orthodox conversion, orthodox rabbis, orthodox shul, orthodox synagogue, prospective converts, shabbat shalom
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I Can’t Remember When I Was Last In Pain
People all around me are suffering. They are doubled-up in pain because of their addictions to drugs, alcohol, debt, over-eating, sex, porn, and the like. I’m not immune to some of these things, but luckily my behavior and my finances … Continue reading
Posted in Alexander Technique, Personal
Tagged alexander technique lessons, depressive tendencies, hole in my soul, orthodox judaism, orthodox shul, psycho therapy
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I’ve Never Dated An Orthodox Girl
I don’t fear so often these days that I’m losing control. Therapy is calming. I can bounce my life off someone sharp and get greater clarity. It also gives me accountability. My therapist names things I’m going through such as … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged fear of abandonment, orthodox jews, orthodox life, orthodox shul, orthodox woman, orthodox women
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