- 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: orthodox shuls
How Much Cleavage Can A Good Orthodox Woman Reveal Publicly?
If an Orthodox Jewish woman is proud of her body, to what extent is she allowed to flaunt it? Is she allowed to select clothing that shows her curves off to advantage? How much cleavage can she show with the … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Pico/Robertson
Tagged fuddy duddy, orthodox shuls, orthodox woman, orthodox women, short skirts, women wearing skirts
Comments Off on How Much Cleavage Can A Good Orthodox Woman Reveal Publicly?
Is This What Discrimination Looks Like?
A few weeks ago, the rabbi of Bnai David-Judea wrote that he was no longer saying the morning blessing “Thank you God for not making me a woman” because it reflected bigotry towards women and that Orthodox Judaism had a … Continue reading
Posted in Feminism, Pico/Robertson, R. Yosef Kanefsky
Tagged beth jacob congregation, family purity, nai david, orthodox rabbis, orthodox shuls, torah scholarship
Comments Off on Is This What Discrimination Looks Like?
Are There Higher Ethical Standards In Modern Orthodoxy?
In my experience, Modern Orthodox Jews have more concern about ethics than other types of Orthodox Jews. They are more concerned about appearances. They are more concerned about the goyim. I’m not arguing that Modern Orthodox Jews are better Jews … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Modern Orthodox
Tagged doctors and lawyers, ethical demands, orthodox jew, orthodox jews, orthodox shuls, Young Israel
Comments Off on Are There Higher Ethical Standards In Modern Orthodoxy?
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
Comments Off on Things I Love About Modern Orthodox Judaism
Are Women More Spiritual?
David Suissa writes: That idea is a woman’s spiritual edge over man. I got a taste of that edge last Friday night at Temple Beth Am, where a packed house welcomed their new cantor, Magda Fishman, a soulful trumpet player … Continue reading
Posted in Beth Am, David Suissa
Tagged billie holliday, conservative synagogue, magda fishman, orthodox shuls, receiving from god, shlomo carlebach
Comments Off on Are Women More Spiritual?
Need help finding an Orthodox Synagogue!
Jane emails: “I’m a prospective Jewish convert. I’ve spent the past 4 months or so studying at a Conservative Temple here in Los Angeles. Although I really enjoyed my experience, I want to experience and learn more, however this time … Continue reading
Posted in Bnai David-Judea, Orthodoxy
Tagged Google, orthodox shuls, orthodox synagogue, orthodox synagogues, orthodox world
Comments Off on Need help finding an Orthodox Synagogue!
The Orthodox View Of Marriage
The more religious the shul, the more likely they are to have copious amounts of alcohol around on Purim and Simchat Torah. By contrast, Modern Orthodox shuls such as Bnai David tend to be alcohol free. I went traditional Thursday … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged orthodox judaism, orthodox shuls, orthodox view, simchat torah, social anxiety, torah scrolls
Comments Off on The Orthodox View Of Marriage
Toras HaShem Is Now Young Israel Of Valley Village
Jeff emails: Did you hear that Rabbi Zvi Block is negotiating selling his shul Toras HaShem for 1.2mil $ to Yeshivas Ner Aryeh? Joe emails: “It would be an incredible power play by the right wing in the valley. Toras … Continue reading
Posted in Synagogue
Tagged aryeh, black hats, hashem, orthodox shuls, toras, yeshivas
Comments Off on Toras HaShem Is Now Young Israel Of Valley Village
Chabad – Judaism With Muscles
I’ve gone a lot to Chabad shuls over the past few months and they’re totally different from the Modern Orthodox shuls I am used to. For one thing, many of the Chabadniks I meet have muscles. Few Modern Orthodox Jews … Continue reading
Posted in Chabad, Modern Orthodox
Tagged chabad judaism, chabadnik, Modern Orthodox, orthodox jews, orthodox shuls, professional code of conduct
Comments Off on Chabad – Judaism With Muscles