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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:
- Tournier on Desmond Ford
- The Borrowed Robe: How Antisemitism Dresses in Each Age’s Virtue
- The Fence and the Blessing: How Jews Have Thought About Gentiles
- A Place For You
- 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
- 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)
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: Orthodoxy
First Black Female Rabbi Ordained
Bob emails: There goes the neighborhood. Khunrum emails: "There’s one shul that might let Luke attend." Fred emails: "I wonder if they’d make him sit in the back of the shul." Bob emails: "Even they would probably question our hapless … Continue reading
‘I Need To Go Have Sex!’ She Said
I was quite taken aback, not being used to such blunt sentiments. "There are ten people I can call right now in this neighborhood," she said. Ten! Here in Pico-Robertson? Here in the bastion of Modern Orthodoxy. A minyan to … Continue reading
Posted in Pico/Robertson, Sex
Tagged bastion, jew, minyan, Orthodoxy, sentiments
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On A Pole?
I have an Orthodox friend who married a dancer. A real dancer, not a stripper. When he tells Orthodox guys that his wife is a dancer, they always react, "Like on a pole?" When done right, Orthodoxy develops a reverence … Continue reading
Anger At Orthodox Judaism
One thing I love about Orthodox Judaism is that it provokes strong feelings in me. A while ago, I was seeing a woman who was raised Orthodox but now hates it. That didn’t bother me. There’s plenty I hate in … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy
Tagged apparent reason, feelings of hate, high intensity, orthodox judaism, Orthodoxy, Reform Judaism
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Stopping By 613 Mitzvah Store On A Sunny Sunday Afternoon
Modern Orthodoxy is in decline, even in Pico-Robertson. I walked the length and breadth of Pico Bvd this afternoon and could not find an RCA version of the Artscroll Siddur (prayer book). I had to order one. I bought some … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged artscroll siddur, eagle eye, holy books, Orthodoxy, prayer book, sunny sunday afternoon
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Shaarey Zedek’s A Mess
Congregants don’t feel like they are getting enough love from their new rabbi. They are used to the hail fellow, well met hands-on style of Rabbi Aron Tendler. So what if he was having phone sex in the shul office. … Continue reading
Posted in Aron Tendler, Shaarey Zedek
Tagged aron, Orthodoxy, rabbi, Rabbis, Shaarey Zedek, shul office
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Better To Be A Flea On A Lion Than The Leader Of Mice
From my live cam chat: guest27: Hey Luke, I saw your video on why you converted to Judaism and chose Orthodoxy. I converted to non-Orthodox Judaism myself but I am seriously considering an Orthodox conversion because it also seems like … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged black hat, blues brothers, dark sun, Dennis Prager, hahaha, hebrew, hordes, jew, jewish life, Jews, lion, live cam chat, mice, norwegian, orthodox conversion, orthodox judaism, orthodox rabbi, Orthodoxy, sun glasses, trough, university of amsterdam, yml
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A Portrait Of A Rabbi Predator
Think Rabbi Yaakov Menken aka Kenny the Shark. That type. We’ve got one or two rabbis like this in Pico/Robertson. They’re in positions of power. I wouldn’t want to rock the boat. I’m not the type who likes to name … Continue reading
Posted in Rabbis
Tagged best friend, Conversion, conversions, counseling, Divorce, family and friends, goyim, hashem, jewish growth, job, kenny the shark, Marriage, Orthodoxy, outreach, predator, rabbi yaakov menken, Rabbis, sake, vulnerable women
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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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The Burka Lady Of Beit Shemesh
The guy circled is the son-in-law of the Burka lady of Beit Shemesh. From the Jerusalem Post March 27, 2008: A fringe sect of Jewish women with a Taliban-like dress code will be overcome by a major spiritual crisis after … Continue reading
Posted in Beit Shemesh, Burka
Tagged Beit Shemesh, child abuse, dress code, eda, food diet, health food, insane behavior, jerusalem post, jewish women, muslim sects, old mother, Orthodoxy, police investigator, quot quot, religious groups, safed, sect, spiritual crisis, tailspin, those women
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